Information provided by DataQuick stated that the number of homes sold in Southern California rose modestly in November from both October and in 2010, as first-time buyers targeted homes priced below $400,000.
Prices slipped in most areas. There was a total of 16.884 resale and new houses & condos sold in Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardio and Orange counties last month.
November existing-home/condo sales rose 5.8% from a year earlier, while new home sales fell 15.2% to the lowest level on record for a November. Distressed property sales accounted for 51.3% of the Southland resale market last month, down from 52.3% in October and down from 53.4% a year earlier.
Short sales, where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property, made up just shy of 20% of Southland resales in November.
Lower conforming loan limits that took effect Oct. 1 continued to impact the housing market. Lawmakers recently restored the higher limits, which vary by county, for FHA loans but not for mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In Los Angeles and Orange counties, where the conforming loan limit was lowered from $729,750 to $625,500, the number of homes sold with purchase loans in that range totaled 58 in November, down 44.2% from October and down 84.1% from a year earlier.
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