LAKEPORT >> The Lake County Association of Realtors (LCAOR) reported that the January median sales price rose 3.4 percent over December’s median. The December median was down 18.5 percent from the November median.
The median sales price in January was $215,000 with the December median coming in at $207,900 and the November median at $255,000.
The number of sales in January was 58, down 24.7 percent from the 77 sales in December and down 17.1 percent from the 70 sales in November.
On a year over year basis, the January 2017 median sales price was down 7.5% compared to January 2016. The number of sales was up 16 percent from 50 in January 2016 to 58 in January 2017.
“The winter months tend to be the slowest time for real estate in Lake County and most of California,” commented 2017 LCAOR President Bobby Dutcher. “The end of 2015 and the beginning 2016 were unique times in Lake County with real estate sales and prices being fueled by the 2015 fires. It appears that the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 are taking on a more normal pattern.”
Cash only sales made up 25.9 percent of the financing for residential sales while conventional loan financing accounted for 32.8 percent of the transactions and FHA loans made up 10.3 percent of the deals.
There was an uptick in distressed home sales. In January 13.8 percent of the sales were in that category, in December it was 9.1 percent and in January 2016 it was 8.0 percent. Distressed sales include the resale of properties that were foreclosed upon and short sales, properties that were sold for less than what was owed.
The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported that housing affordability continues to be a statewide issue. On a statewide basis the affordability index is 31 percent, meaning that 31 percent of California households could afford to purchase the $511,360 median-priced home in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Of the counties that C.A.R. tracks San Francisco had the lowest affordability index of 13 percent and Kings County had the highest index at 56 percent. The nationwide affordability index was 58 percent.
C.A.R. does not track an affordability index for Lake County.
