by Calculated Risk on 7/20/2015 11:27:00 AM

From the LA Times: Southern California home sales soar in June; prices climb 5.7%

On Thursday, fresh evidence of that trend emerged in a report from CoreLogic. Home sales posted a sizable 18.1% pop in June from a year earlier ...

The sales increase, the largest in nearly three years, put the number of sales just 9.6% below average, CoreLogic said. A year ago, sales were nearly 24% below average.

Notably, it appears more families are entering the market as the economy improves. Although still elevated in comparison to long-term averages, the share of absentee buyers — mostly investors — slid to 21.1%, the lowest percentage since April 2010, CoreLogic said.
...
Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Assn. of Realtors, cautioned that the market still has too few homes for sale and that prices have risen to a point where many can't afford a house.

Unless that changes, sales are unlikely to reach levels in line with historical norms, she said.

“I am not saying the housing market isn't robust,” she said. “I think housing affordability is a big issue...."
emphasis added

The NAR will release existing home sales for June on Wednesday at 10:00 AM ET. The consensus is for sales of 5.40 million on seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) basis, up about 8% from June 2014.