Thursday, Jun. 18, 2009
Biz Buzz: County’s median home price up a little
The median price moves past $360,000 for first time in four months
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closeSan Luis Obispo County’s median price dropped nearly 15 percent in May compared to the same month a year ago.
But for the first time in four months, the median price here surpassed the $360,000 mark, a real estate information firm reported.
The latest figures from San Diego-based MDA DataQuick show the county’s median — the point at which half of homes sell for more and half for less — at $370,000, versus $434,500 in May 2008.
The median had been holding steady at $360,000 since February. The all-home median includes new and resale single-family detached homes and condominiums.
The median sales price of newly-built homes in the county — which reflects single-family houses and condos combined — fell to $482,500 from $550,000, a 12.3 percent drop from the same month a year ago.
However, the median jumped from $317,000 in April of this year, a 34 percent increase. Month-to-month changes are often a reflection of traditional seasonal buying patterns in the real estate market.
The median price of resale detached homes fell to $380,000 in May, an 11.5 percent decline from May 2008 when the median price was $429,500. The May median is a slight increase, up 3.3 percent, from April.
The median price of resale condos dropped to $247,500 in May, a nearly 28 percent decrease from a year ago when DataQuick recorded a median price of $342,000. The April median for condos was $274,500.
All-home sales, meanwhile, dropped 4 percent in May from the same month a year ago, although month-over-month sales increased slightly to 238 houses, up from 203 in April.
Sales of newly built homes dropped nearly 43 percent and resale condos 18.5 percent. Sales of resale detached homes, however, increased 5.4 percent from May 2008.
Home sales in California rose by about 3 percent from April to May and are up more than 18 percent from the same time last year, according to DataQuick figures reported by The Associated Press. The overall number of homes sold in California has increased on a year-over-year basis for 11 months in a row.
May’s median home price was $230,000 statewide, AP reported, up more than 4 percent from April. However, May’s median price was down more than 32 percent from a year before.
DataQuick says the resale of foreclosed properties accounted for more than 51 percent of the May home sales statewide, according to AP.
— Julie Lynem
New members on Prado center board
The Friends of the Prado Day Center nonprofit organization in San Luis Obispo has appointed two new members to its board of directors.
Allison Farquhar, a communications professional, will serve on the board and on the homeless advocacy group’s public relations and advertising committee. Anneka Scranton is a retired professor from the University of Southern California who has taught nonprofit organization management and social policy courses.
The two new members fill a vacancy created after former board member Nancy Sugarman stepped down to move out of state, according to the center. — Stephen Curran
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