Pending sales jumped from 392 in November to 459 last month countywide, a 17 percent increase, according to figures from the latest Grupe-TrendGraphix sales report, based on
Multiple Listing Service data.
That compares with a monthly low for the year of 257 in September.
Meanwhile, the median selling price continued to slip, falling to $293,000, the first time the countywide median has been less than $300,000 since April 2004, when the median selling price stood at $290,000.
"Price is king," said Jerry Abbott, president and co-owner of Grupe
Realtors, Stockton.
Foreclosures are accounting for about 70 percent of the monthly sales, he said, and investors are accounting for about half the
buyers.
But unlike in the real estate boom years, these
investors aren't "flippers" - buyers looking to resell in a year or two to cash in on fast-rising equity. Now they are looking for long-term investments, he said, and prices are low enough that monthly
rental fees basically can cover the
mortgage
payments.
Lower interest rates also are drawing buyers, Abbott said.
According to federal mortgage giant
Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell last week to 5.87 percent nationally, down from 6.07 percent the previous week.
Ben Balsbaugh, residential sales manager for PMZ Real Estate in Stockton, said his office is starting to see multiple offers on very well-priced homes - typically bank-owned foreclosures.
"However, even the traditional homes that are well-priced are seeing action," he said. "Open houses are getting busier, which is always a good sign."
Abbott said that since November, asset managers who control
bank-owned foreclosure homes have lowered prices aggressively, and
foreclosure homes are selling at about 95 percent of asking prices.
Getting as many as four or five offers on a foreclosure house is almost commonplace these days, he said.
"They've really got them priced right," he said.
Contact reporter Bruce Spence at (209) 943-8581 or bspence@recordnet.com.