by Calculated Risk on 12/13/2011 10:15:00 PM

From DataQuick: Southland November Home Sales Rise; Median Price Still Below Year Ago

The number of homes sold in Southern California rose modestly last month from both October and a year earlier as investors and first-time buyers targeted homes priced below $400,000. Sales above $500,000 fell nearly 16 percent from a year earlier amid a troubled market for larger home loans ...

While November sales of existing (not new) houses and condos combined rose 5.8 percent from a year earlier, sales of newly built homes fell 15.2 percent to the lowest level on record for a November. [CR note: the Census Bureau reports new home sales when contracts are signed, DataQuick reports at closing - so this fits with the record low contracts reported earlier this year]
...
Distressed property sales accounted for 51.3 percent of the Southland resale market last month, down from 52.3 percent in October and down from 53.4 percent a year earlier. Nearly one out of three homes resold last month was a foreclosure, while roughly one in five was a “short sale.”
...
Absentee buyers, mainly investors and vacation-home buyers, purchased a near-record 24.8 percent of the Southland homes sold in November, paying a median $200,000.

Over half of existing home sales in SoCal were distressed sales in November; a very unhealthy market.

NAR is scheduled to report November existing home sales on Wednesday, December 21st. The big story this month will be the downward revisions to sales and inventory for the years 2007 through 2011.

I expect the NAR to report sales in November in the low 4 million range on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (the NAR reported October sales at 4.97 million SAAR, but that will be revised down significantly).

Earlier:
• Retail Sales increased 0.2% in November
• BLS: Job Openings "essentially unchanged" in October
• Ceridian-UCLA: Diesel Fuel index increased 0.1% in November
• NFIB: Small Business Optimism Index increases in November
• Lawler on NAR Revisions for 2007 through 2011