Pending home sales in California continued to take a hit in August because of rising interest rates, although distressed home sales fell to lows not seen in nearly six years, the state’s Realtor association reported.
The Pending Home Sales Index fell 5% in August to 108.3, down from 114 in July. When compared with the 118.9 index value for August 2012, it fell 8.9%.
California Association of Realtors chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young said the Federal Reserve’s decision not to start to taper bond purchases should result in lower interest rates, which in turn “bodes well for prospective buyers.”
Almost 85% of all sales in the state were for nondistressed properties. In comparison, 83% of July’s sales were traditional transactions,
Short sales made up over 10% of sales, the lowest level for this kind of transaction since February 2009. In August 2012, 23% of transactions in California were short sales.
The remaining 5% of California sales were of real estate owned. This is down from 15% on a year-over-over basis.
