The sales surge continues.
Strong investor activity and price cutting in higher-end neighborhoods drove Sacramento-region home sales in June to new 20-month highs, a report said Thursday.
Buyers received keys to 3,922 new and existing houses across the region, said researcher MDA DataQuick. Statistics showed especially strong gains from June 2009 in pricier Amador, El Dorado, Nevada and Placer counties.
"That follows the trend statewide," said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. "In many mid- to high-end neighborhoods you have sellers being more realistic."
June's sales numbers were the highest since October 2008. They beat May's 3,716 sales in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.
Median prices, too, continued a slow ascent. Sacramento County posted a $185,000 median price in June - 5.7 percent above June 2009.
The rising prices reflect fewer bank repo sales and more move-up houses in the market mix.
Investors played a leading role in June, especially in Sacramento County. They bought about one in four houses sold.
"There is a ton of investor money flowing in here and to Stockton that is buying property," said Scott Syphax, chief executive of Sacramento nonprofit housing firm Nehemiah Corp. of America. "My theory is we have an artificial floor under us, which is assisting us."
Sacramento-area home sales, aided by $8,000 federal tax credits for first-time buyers, began to surge in March and have stayed strong. While sales remain below historical spring averages, the area's performance matches the state in outpacing the nation, said Scott Anderson, senior economist with Wells Fargo Bank.
"It really seems like California housing is parting ways with the national view. We've seen a much stronger recovery off the bottom," he said.
U.S. home sales dropped sharply in May after the federal tax credit expired, and June expectations were low. But across most of California, sales continued rising, DataQuick reported.
On May 1, California launched its own homebuyer tax credit of up to $10,000. As of Wednesday, the California Franchise Tax Board had taken 26,670 applications from first-time buyers for $100 million. The FTB will cut off applications after reaching 28,000. The tax agency said it has taken 9,630 applications for another $100 million in credits for people who buy new unoccupied houses.
Among June buyers expecting to get both federal and state first-time buyer credits are Elise and Craig Wallace. They moved into a new West Sacramento house days ago.
"It was a long search, almost two years," said Craig Wallace, a civil engineer. He and his wife, a teacher, looked within five miles of downtown Sacramento until finding a four-bedroom house in Southport.
"It was just really finding the right place for us, a layout we both found comfortable," said Wallace. "We feel we got a good deal."
Sacramento's market for new houses continued to be weak, despite the increase in overall sales. New houses made up just 9 percent of closed area escrows in June. During the boom new homes were 25 percent of closings.
DataQuick said the next two months will tell whether strong sales are largely due to government stimulus and buyer tax breaks. Said LePage, "We'll get a really good idea about how straight the market can stand on its own."
Adding to uncertainty is continued high mortgage distress in the region; 12 percent of home loans are seriously delinquent or in the foreclosure process, says industry tracker CoreLogic. State employees also face new prospects of minimum wage payments.
State worker Carol Hoerning said Thursday that state budget woes didn't stop her from buying a house in May. She bought an Amador County bank repo on two acres for $165,000.
"People are worried, but most people who have been in state government for an extended period of time learn from the get-go you have to budget," she said. "I've been with the state over 30 years. I've seen it come and go. State people learn to roll with it, if you can."
--Call The Sacramento Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102 or email him at [email protected]. Read his blog on real estate, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.