Sacramento home sales, prices down in December - Sacramento Business Journal:

Sacramento home sales, prices down in December
Sacramento Business Journal - January 26, 2007

Correction at bottom of article

The unsold inventory index for existing, single-family detached homes declined in December to 6.8 months from 7.4 months in November, according to figures released Thursday.

But it is still hovering around double the inventory of the previous year, when it was 3.5 months in December 2005.

The California Association of Realtors released the index, which indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home in December was 73 days, compared with 43 days for the same period a year ago and 70 days in November.

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California for the month was $567,690, a 3.7 percent increase over $547,400 last year.

In the Sacramento region, the median home price in December was $362,660, down 0.6 percent from November and down 4.3 percent from December 2005. Sales in the region were down 0.1 percent from November and down 25.6 percent compared to the previous December.

Home sales decreased 15.3 percent in December in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 3.7 percent.

Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during December 2006 were: Los Altos, $1.46 million; Burlingame, $1.33 million; Manhattan Beach, $1.28 million; San Juan Capistrano, $1.17 million; Santa Barbara, $1.01 million; Danville, $995,000; Los Gatos, $970,000; Rancho Palos Verdes, $947,500; San Clemente, $916,000; and Santa Monica, $833,000.

Correction:
As a result of an editing error, an earlier version of this story included incorrect information that suggested home sales rose in December from the prior-year period while prices rose year-over-year. The story as it now appears reflects the correct data from the California Association of Realtors.