Existing home sales in California fell by over 2% between August and September on a seasonally adjusted basis due to the debt debate in Washington, a weaker stock market and the pending drop in the conforming loan limit, the California Association of Realtors said.
"This heightened uncertainty, coupled with the lower conforming loan limit, which some large lenders began implementing in early July, had an adverse impact on September sales," said CAR president Beth L. Peerce.
There is some good news in the report. On a year-over-year basis, September's sales were up 4%, making it three straight months where this has been the case.
There were a seasonally adjusted 487,940 units sold in September, compared with 498,320 in August. Sales for the year should be almost even with 2010, at around 490,000 units, CAR said.
Meanwhile, median sales price slipped 3% from August and 8% from September 2010. CAR chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young said, "While the median price declined in September, we've seen nominal month-to-month changes in the statewide median price since February, indicating some stability in home prices."
The median price statewide was $287,440, down from $297,060 in August.
