California Home Sales Drop, Median Price Improves

Home sales in California displayed a typical seasonal decline in November and fell month-over-month, but the median price posted both monthly and yearly gains, San Diego-based ""DataQuick"":http://www.dataquick.com/ reported.

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About 37,481 new and existing homes were sold in November, representing a 4.5 percent decline from October, but a 14.7 percent increase from November 2011, according to DataQuick.

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When averaging November sales since 1988--when DataQuick's statistics began--November 2012 sales sat 5.3 percent below the 39,594 average.

The median price for a home sold in California was $291,000, up 2.1 percent from October and up 19.3 percent from November 2011, marking the ninth straight month of yearly gains.

At its peak, the median price for a home in California was $484,000 in early 2007, and at its low point, the median price was $221,000 in April 2009, according to DataQuick.

In November, 16.6 percent of resales were foreclosures, down from 32.9 percent a year ago. October foreclosures were at their lowest level since October 2007, when foreclosure resales made up 16 percent of the resale market. In February 2009, foreclosure resales reached their peak at 58.5 percent.

Short sales accounted for 26.3 percent of resales last month, a month-over-month decrease from 27.1 percent, but an increase from 24.9 percent a year earlier.