July Pending Home Sales

California pending home sales dipped in July, as did the share of sales of distressed properties, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

Pending home sales:

Pending home sales in California fell 1.7 percent in July, according to C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*. The index was 117.0 in July, down from June’s index of 119.0, based on contracts signed in July. The index was up 4.9 percent from July 2010. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.

“While pending home sales dipped in July, all indications show we should continue at the current level for the next couple of months,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce. “Pending sales have been ahead of last year’s level for the past three consecutive months and should be on track to finish the year even with last year’s pace.”

Distressed housing market data:

• The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide fell to 44.5 percent in July, down from June’s 46.9 percent. The share of distressed sales also was down from a year prior, when distressed sales totaled 47.7 percent of all home sales.
• Of the distressed properties sold statewide, 17.5 percent were short sales, a decline from last month’s share of 19.3 percent and last July’s share of 20.9 percent.
• At 26.7 percent, the share of REO (real estate-owned) sales was down from June’s 27.3 percent figure, but was up slightly from the 26.3 percent reported in July 2010.
• Non-distressed sales made up the remaining share of home sales in July at 55.5 percent, up from 53.1 percent in June and 52.3 percent in July 2010.

From: http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2011newsreleases/julpendinghmsales/