LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The March median sales price of single family residences in Lake County decreased by 4.6 percent when compared to like sales in February, according to the latest report from the Lake County Association of Realtors.
According to statistics taken from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, the number of single family residence sales in March (51) was down 5.6 percent over like sales in February (54).
The median sales price in March 2014 came in at $155,000, with February’s median showing $162,450. The Lake County Association of Realtors said the median sales price for March 2013 was $140,000.
Quarterly statistics help to paint a more definitive picture of 2014 versus 2013, according to the association report.
For the first quarter of 2014, the median sales price was $157,000 and the number of sales was 141. The 2013 numbers were a median price of $132,500 and the number of sales was 191.
These statistics show an 18.5-percent gain in median price for the first quarter of 2014, but the number of sales decreased by 35.5 percent.
“It appears that the laws of supply and demand are coming into play,” said Lake County Association of Realtors President Rick White.
“There is a dwindling availability of properties priced under $100,000 and that is evident when comparing Q1 2014 sales to Q1 2013 sales,” White said. “In the first quarter last year over 30 percent of the sales were under $100,000, but they only made up 17 percent of the sales in this year’s first quarter. Today’s buyers are showing a willingness to pay more to purchase the properties that they desire.”
Other notable trends when comparing quarterly statistics are the decrease in distressed property sales – foreclosures and short sales.
In the first quarter of 2013 these made up 53 percent of the sales, but in 2014's first quarter they accounted for 38 percent, the association reported.
Sales financed by cash decreased from 41.4 percent to 36.2 percent with conventional loans increasing from 26.2 percent of the sales to 32.6 percent, according to the report.