CA Home Sales Showing Sparks, But...

Buyers are starting to bang heads once again in California, according to March sales figures produced by the state Realtors organization.Existing single-family home sales were up almost 64% over March a year ago, driving the median sales prices higher on a month-to-month for the first time in nearly two years, the California Association of Realtors reported. CAR's unsold inventory index also fell to five months in March, compared to 12.2 months a year earlier, and the median days on the market for houses sold in the month was down more than a week, from 56.8 to 48.3 days. Said CAR President James Liptak: "All of the regions in the state experienced increases in month-to-month raw sales." The largest gain was posted in the Riverside-San Bernardino region, which saw sales jump by almost a third. It wasn't all candy and roses, though. While the March median sales price was $253,040, a 2.2 gain from $247,590 in February, it was 39% lower than the March 2008 median of $414,520. Chief Economist Leslie cited an increase in the number of multiple offers as an indication that first-time home buyers and investors are responding to dramatically improved housing affordability in the Golden State as well as relatively low loan rates and the federal first-time buyer tax credit. The economist also noted that a number of the group's 90 local affiliates have registered monthly gains for one or more months since the beginning of this year. But she said it is still too early to call the bottom of the California's housing slide.