California Resales Fall 40.2%

The sales of existing single-family detached homes in California were down 40.2% in October from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of closed-escrow resales totaled 265,030 in October, down from the 443,320-unit rate recorded in October 2006, CAR reported. The median price of an existing single-family detached home in California totaled $497,110 in October, down 9.9% from a revised $552,020 a year earlier, the association said. "Financing issues have dogged entry-level buyers since early 2007, but they spilled over into the middle and upper-tier markets in the last few months," said CAR president William E. Brown. "The decline in sales at the upper end of the market contributed to a significant decline in the statewide median price as even well-qualified borrowers had difficulty securing financing." CAR can be found online at http://www.car.org.