State housing market called “steady”

Home sales in California stayed below 400,000 in September, the 11th consecutive month the market failed to reach that number.

Statewide, 396,440 single-family detached housing units closed escrow last month, a 0.4 percent increase from August but a 4.2 percent decline compared with September 2013, according to data released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors.

That marked the 14th consecutive month that sales were down year over year, according to the association.

The state’s housing market remained favorable to sellers last month. The median price of a single-family home last month – $460,940 – was down four percent from August but up 7.6 percent compared with September 2013.

The median price of a California home has risen year-over-year for more than two years, according to the report.

Despite the drop in sales during the past 12 months, the state’s housing market “remained steady” during September, the report stated.

“All of the current market indicators point to a more balanced real estate market,” said Kevin Brown, president of the Los Angeles-based association, in a statement. “With market competition cooling down, buyers’ and sellers’ are more in line with each other.”

The report, which is based on a survey of more than 90 local realtors’ associations statewide, also found that it would take 4.2 months to sell the current supply of available single-family homes at current market rates, up from four months in August and up from 3.6 months in September 2013.