by Calculated Risk on 2/19/2020 04:45:00 PM

The CAR reported: California home sales maintain last year’s momentum in January, C.A.R. reports

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 395,550 units in January, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2020 if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

January’s sales total was down 0.7 percent from the 398,370 level in December and marked the second straight month that sales fell below the 400,000 benchmark. Still, sales were up a solid 10.3 percent from January 2019, largely due to weak sales of a revised 358,540 a year ago.

“The strong sales momentum that we saw in the second half of last year carried over into the new year, thanks to favorable homebuying conditions,” said 2020 C.A.R. President Jeanne Radsick, a second-generation REALTOR® from Bakersfield, Calif. “And while home sales were up double-digits from a year ago, it’s important to remember that current sales are being compared to a market that one year ago was at its lowest level in 10 years as economic uncertainties clouded the market outlook while the government shutdown delayed escrow closings.”
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The available supply of homes for sale in the state inched up slightly after reaching an 80-month record low in December but continued to drop on a year-over-year basis for the seventh consecutive month. Housing inventory continued to fall by double digits, with active listings declining 26.9 percent in January after a 25.9 percent dip in December. The January drop was the largest since April 2013.
emphasis added