LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The number of homes available for sale continues to grow, with prices down when compared to this time last year, according to the latest report from the Lake County Association of Realtors.

Over the month of August, the homes sold through the multiple listing service totaled 85, compared to 123 during the same time last year. Those included traditionally built “stick-built” houses as well as manufactured homes on land.

There were five sales of mobile homes in parks compared to 10 for the same time last year, and 23 bare land (lots and acreage) sales, compared with 21 for the same time last year.

Homes bought for all cash in August totaled 30%, compared to 27% for the same time last year. Of those, 32% were financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (“conventional loans”) compared to 41% for the same time last year; 21% were financed by FHA (same as last year this time); and 1% were financed by the VA or CalVet, compared to 2% for this time last year; and 7% had other financing such as private loans or seller financed notes, compared to 13% last year at this time.



There are 445 homes on the market right now. If the rate of sales stays the same at 85 homes sold per month, there are currently 5.2 months of inventory on the market at the moment. That means that if no new homes are brought to the market for sale, in 5.2 months all of these homes would be sold and there would be none available.

Less than six months of inventory is generally considered to be a “sellers’ market” while more than six months of inventory is often called a “buyers’ market.”

The inventory has been growing steadily over the past several months and again is a record of most homes available at any time in the last two years.

Most homes were selling very close to the asking price, at an average of 97% of the asking price. This is in contrast to other areas, where homes sell for more than the asking price.

The median time on the market last month was 23 days, compared to 13 days for this time last year.

The median sale price of a single family home in Lake County over the last 30 days was $300,000 compared to $325,000 during this time period last year.

In August, 41% of homes sold had seller concessions for an average of $9,046; a year ago 30% of homes sold had an average seller concession of $6,806.