California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Existing home sales declined almost 17 percent in December, the largest in
more than 40 years another sign that the economy continues to struggle.

December’s existing home sales plummeted 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted
rate of 5.45 million, or almost 1 million fewer than the 6.54 million in
November, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Despite the larger-than-expected decline, the nation’s median home price
increased 1.5 percent to $178,300, the first increase since August 2007,
according to the realtors association. Nationwide, home sales have increased
21 percent from a year ago, but are off 25 percent from the housing peak in
2006.

In California, a bellwether state for housing, inventories of existing homes
hit a five-year low in December of 3.8 months' supply, according to the
California Association of Realtors, from a high of 16.6 months in 2008.

Additionally, California’s existing home sales increased 1.7 percent in
December compared to the same period a year ago, while the median price of
an existing home rose 8.4 percent. The median price of an existing, single-
family detached home in California during December was $306,820, an 8.4
percent increase from the revised $283,060 median for December 2008. According
to the California Association of Realtors, the price rose 0.8 percent compared
with November’s $304,520 median price.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.