REAL ESTATE NEWS...California Home Sales Up

The California housing market accelerated in April for the third straight month, starting off the spring home-buying season with both higher prices and higher home sales.

Annualized home sales passed the 400,000 mark in April for the first time since October of 2013, and hit their highest levels since August of that year, according to new data from the California Association of Realtors.

Sales of existing, single-family homes in April hit an annualized rate of 427,000. That’s 9.2% higher than March’s revised number of 391,440, and up 9.3% from a revised 391,330 in April of 2014, according to CAR. That’s the highest year-over-year increase since May of 2012.

“It’s encouraging that the spring home-buying season is off to such a strong start,” said CAR President Chris Kutzkey. “Sales activity is at the highest level in the last year and a half, and should remain solid throughout the rest of the season. We are finally seeing some of the pent-up housing demand that we talked about in the past turning into actual sales, thanks to solid job growth, record-low interest rates and looser lending requirements.”

Home prices also rose in April, with the median price of an existing single-family home increasing 2.8% month-over-month to $481,760. That’s 7.4% higher than April 2014’s revised median price of $448,720. If prices continue to rise, it could end up hurting the industry, said CAR vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young.

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“While it’s a welcomed sign to see the growth in housing demand continue, the lack of supply remains a concern,” Appleton-Young said. :The imbalance between the two sides not only intensifies market competition and pushes home prices higher, but also leads to housing affordability issues that could ultimately lower the home ownership rate if the problem persists.”