California Resales Off 22% From '05 Level

The sales of existing homes in California were down 22.2% in November from the level recorded a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of closed escrow sales of existing single-family detached homes totaled 450,930, down from the 579,560-unit rate recorded in November 2005, CAR said. The median price of an existing single-family detached home in California totaled $555,290 in November, up 1.4% from $547,870 a year earlier, according to CAR. "After fairly steep declines in sales during the first half of the year, the market appears to have stabilized at around 450,000 sales on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis," said CAR president Colleen Badagliacco. CAR can be found online at http://www.car.org.