January Home Sales up 30% to 7-Year High

Source: OC Register, 2/14/2013

Orange County home sales hit their highest level for a January in seven years last month, rising 29.9 percent over the previous January, Data-Quick reports. At $460,000, the median Orange County home price hit a five-year high for a January. The latest housing report shows continuing momentum behind a housing recovery that gained traction in mid-2012.

Orange County home sellers closed 2,431 transactions in January, compared with fewer than 1,900 a year earlier, according to the La Jolla-based real estate tracking firm. While January typically is the slowest month of the year – reflecting deals reached during the Thanksgiving-Christmas holidays – that's the most sales for the month since January 2006.

The median home price – or price at the midpoint of all sales – was up 17.3 percent from year-ago levels and was the second-highest median for any month since home prices melted down in 2008.

"This fledgling housing recovery has momentum, “said Data-Quick President John Walsh. "Already, price hikes have caused some to question whether it's sustainable, whether it's a 'bubble.' Let's not forget, though, that we're still climbing out of a deep hole from the housing downturn."

Prices and sales were up across the six-county Southern California region, with the region-wide median home price up 23.5 percent to $321,000, Data-Quick reported. SoCal sales increased 10.6 percent year-over-year, rising to 16,058 closed deals.