State housing market still slow

Home sales in California remained flat in January, as the market remained plagued by low inventory.

Sales of single-family, detached homes in the state during the first month of the year totaled 363,640 units, the third consecutive month that sales failed to reach 400,000 units, according to the monthly housing report released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors.

January was also the sixth consecutive month that statewide sales dropped year-to-year: sales were down 13.8 percent compared with January 2013, according to the report, which is based on data provided to the association by more than 90 local realtors and multiple listing services.

Higher mortgage rates and more restrictive leasing standards have made some homeowners reluctant to buy a move-up home, a trend that has contributed to a reduction housing inventory, said Kevin Brown, president of the association.

Brown noted that the inventory of homes priced below $300,000 was tight, as the inventory in that sector fell 13.4 percent. Conversely, inventory for homes priced $1 million or higher rose 11.1 percent during that time.

On the price side, the median price of a singe-family rose 22.1 percent, to nearly $411,000, but it fell 6.2 percent compared with December. However, the month-to-month drop is typical for the start of the year, and that figure is expected to pick up as the spring home buying season approaches.

In the Inland Empire, prices in January rose substantially year-to-year but varied only slightly compared with December.

In San Bernardino County, the median price of a home last month – $190,540 – was a 23.3 percent increase compared with January 2013 but a 4.2 percent drop compared with December, according to the association.

Similarly, Riverside County’s median price of $314,070 was 28.3 percent higher than January 2013 but only 1.3 percent higher than December, according to the association.