For the fourth month in a row, pending home sales in California headed lower in April year-over-year but were up from March
For the fourth month in a row, pending home sales in California headed lower in April year-over-year but were up from March.
California Association of Realtors says that its Pending Home Sales Index was down 7.4% from a year earlier, the largest decline since July 2014; but increased 5.9% from March 2017.
The association says that tight supply compared to strong demand – with active listings more than 10% lower than a year ago - means that the spring market may underperform.
There was regional disparity though with Southern California’s pending sales off by a relatively modest 2.8% while the San Francisco Bay Area dropped 17.1% year-over-year. The Central Valley was down 11.2% and Kern County was down 15.5%.
The sentiment of real estate agents in California for the next year was lower in April as they reported less open house traffic, fewer multiple offers, more price reductions, and no change in listing appointment activity compared with March.
They cite a lack of inventory as their top concern (48% said that, the highest ever in the CAR’s Market Pulse Survey) followed by affordability/high interest rates (19.5%) and inflated home prices/bubble (19.5%).
California Association of Realtors says that its Pending Home Sales Index was down 7.4% from a year earlier, the largest decline since July 2014; but increased 5.9% from March 2017.
The association says that tight supply compared to strong demand – with active listings more than 10% lower than a year ago - means that the spring market may underperform.
There was regional disparity though with Southern California’s pending sales off by a relatively modest 2.8% while the San Francisco Bay Area dropped 17.1% year-over-year. The Central Valley was down 11.2% and Kern County was down 15.5%.
The sentiment of real estate agents in California for the next year was lower in April as they reported less open house traffic, fewer multiple offers, more price reductions, and no change in listing appointment activity compared with March.
They cite a lack of inventory as their top concern (48% said that, the highest ever in the CAR’s Market Pulse Survey) followed by affordability/high interest rates (19.5%) and inflated home prices/bubble (19.5%).
