IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Pending sales of single-family homes in California bounced back last month, posting gains both month-over-month and year-over-year.
The number of pending sales rose 26.7 percent in January compared with December, according to data released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors.
That was well above the average 16.3 percent month-over-month increase of the past six years, the ten percent difference being attributed mostly to seasonal factors in the housing market.
Pending sales in January were up six percent compared with January 2014, the largest year-over-year increase since May 2012, according to the association.
Pending sales means a contract has been signed to sell a home but the transaction has not yet closed. Because it typically takes four to six weeks to close a sale on a single-family home, the pending home sale index is considered a solid indicator of the market’s immediate future and is watched carefully by economists and people who work in the housing industry.
Equity sales – sales of non-distressed properties – dropped for the third consecutive month in January. Equity sales accounted for 88 percent of all home sales in California last month, down from 89.8 percent in December.
Equity sales made up 84.3 percent of all home sales in January 2014. Statewide, equity sales have been above 80 percent every month since July 2013, the Los Angeles-based association stated.
