Mother Lode Home Sales On The Rise
Sonora, CA – New local housing data indicates that home sales in Tuolumne County grew by six percent during 2016.
According to the latest Tuolumne County Association of Realtors (TCAR) report, 980 residences sold last year, compared with 920 in 2015. Too, the median 2016 sales price was also up six percent at $240,000, versus 2015, which came in at $225,750.
Over the same period, the average sales price of $276,401 rose by eight percent from $255,024 in 2015. Median sales numbers are derived by separating the higher and lower halves of the data. The average sales price is a sum of all sales divided by the number of homes sold.
In TCAR’s most recent market snapshot taken on Jan. 7, the current median listing price, $315,000 is a fractional improvement compared to last year’s July 5 snapshot. The average list price is $373,299; 95 percent of the listings are private with the remainder being four short sales and 13 REOs.
Short Sales: Less Than One In Ten
Private sales made up 92 percent of last year’s residential sales, up three percent from 2015. Short sales continue to slide with seven in 2016 compared to 17 in 2015 — and 48 back in 2014. Bank-owned (REO) sales last year were down 18 percent with 67 reported.
Sales at $200,000 and below, which represented almost a third of home sales, became more scarce in 2016 — down nearly 20 percent from the previous year. Roughly one in five of the homes sold in 2016 were at $175,000 and under – a 23 percent dip.
TCAR reports just over a four-month inventory of homes on the market with an average of 82 sales per month. As of this week there are 338 active listings, which is roughly similar to this time last year when there were 341.
Statewide, Home Sales Accelerate
According to its latest findings, issued in December, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) reports that in November of last year, 442,320 existing single-family homes sold across the state. Although it was a tick down from the previous month, the number marked a nearly 18 percent acceleration over the same month the previous year. November’s statewide median home price was $501,710, sinking just over two percent from the previous month but up nearly five percent compared to November 2015.
CAR sees the demand for homes continuing to outstrip supply, as the Unsold Inventory Index was at 3.1 months last November; it was at 4.2 months in November 2015. The jump in home sales caused almost a 12 percent decline in new statewide active listings last November from the previous month and a six percent slide from a year ago.
Mortgage rates, according to Freddie Mac, steadily increased over the past several weeks, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 3.77 percent in November, up from 3.47 percent in October but down from 3.94 percent in November 2015. The five-year, adjustable-rate mortgage interest rates also rose in November to an average of 2.99 percent, up from 2.83 percent in October, slightly down from 3.0 percent in November 2015.
