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Home sales and prices in western Nevada County bucked negative trends in the rest of the state in October.
California home sales in October fell nearly 21 percent from a year earlier and the median price also dipped, according to real estate tracking firm DataQuick.
Eighty-one single family homes sold in western Nevada County in October, marking a 19 percent increase over the 68 single family homes sold in October 2009. The median price of a home in western Nevada County rose from $272,000 in October 2009 to $276,000 this year.
Statewide, the estimated 32,669 houses and condos sold last month represented a 1.5 percent drop from September and 20.9 percent decline from October 2009, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.
The October median home price was $256,000, a drop of 3.4 percent from September and 0.4 percent from the year-earlier figure, the first year-over-year decrease in 12 months, the firm said.
The firm said 37.1 percent of existing homes sold last month had been foreclosed on in the past year. That was an increase from a revised figure of 35.6 percent in September and a decline from 40.9 percent in October 2009.
Since DataQuick began keeping statistics in 1988, the lowest number of October home sales in California was 25,832 in 2007 and the highest was 70,152 in 2003.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the 6,100 new and resale houses closing escrow during October marked the region's second-slowest pace in more than two decades, down nearly 23 percent from a year earlier.
Other than in 2007, MDA DataQuick hadn't seen an October that slow since it began tracking the market.
The median price of $383,000 also was down 1.8 percent from October 2009. It's the first year-over-year decline in 13 months.
The firm cited tight credit, worries about the economy and the loss of government stimulus for the housing market's downward turn in the nine-county region.
The company's president, John Walsh, described the decline as in part a "hangover effect" from the expiration of home buyer tax credits that fueled home buying in the first half of 2010.
“But that effect is fading," Walsh said. "Now the real hurdles to more normal sales levels are the lack of meaningful job growth and the concerns many potential buyers have about job security and the overall economy."
The Associated Press contributed to this story. To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
California home sales in October fell nearly 21 percent from a year earlier and the median price also dipped, according to real estate tracking firm DataQuick.
Eighty-one single family homes sold in western Nevada County in October, marking a 19 percent increase over the 68 single family homes sold in October 2009. The median price of a home in western Nevada County rose from $272,000 in October 2009 to $276,000 this year.
Statewide, the estimated 32,669 houses and condos sold last month represented a 1.5 percent drop from September and 20.9 percent decline from October 2009, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.
The October median home price was $256,000, a drop of 3.4 percent from September and 0.4 percent from the year-earlier figure, the first year-over-year decrease in 12 months, the firm said.
The firm said 37.1 percent of existing homes sold last month had been foreclosed on in the past year. That was an increase from a revised figure of 35.6 percent in September and a decline from 40.9 percent in October 2009.
Since DataQuick began keeping statistics in 1988, the lowest number of October home sales in California was 25,832 in 2007 and the highest was 70,152 in 2003.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the 6,100 new and resale houses closing escrow during October marked the region's second-slowest pace in more than two decades, down nearly 23 percent from a year earlier.
Other than in 2007, MDA DataQuick hadn't seen an October that slow since it began tracking the market.
The median price of $383,000 also was down 1.8 percent from October 2009. It's the first year-over-year decline in 13 months.
The firm cited tight credit, worries about the economy and the loss of government stimulus for the housing market's downward turn in the nine-county region.
The company's president, John Walsh, described the decline as in part a "hangover effect" from the expiration of home buyer tax credits that fueled home buying in the first half of 2010.
“But that effect is fading," Walsh said. "Now the real hurdles to more normal sales levels are the lack of meaningful job growth and the concerns many potential buyers have about job security and the overall economy."
The Associated Press contributed to this story. To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
