Wendy Jimenez

Sales in December were up 0.8 percent from a revised 518,460 in November and up 0.9 percent from a revised 517,730 in December 2011.  The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2012 if sales maintained the December pace throughout the year.
The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home climbed 5 percent from November’s $349,300 median price to $366,930 in December.
December’s price was up 27 percent from a revised $288,950 recorded in December 2011, marking the tenth consecutive month of annual price increases and the sixth consecutive month of double-digit annual gains.
The substantial increase in price was due in large part to a significant increase of higher-priced properties, while inventory constraints continued to constrict sales of lower-priced homes.  Price increases are not expected to continue at a high pace into 2013.
California’s housing inventory was further constrained in December, with the Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes dropping to 2.6 months, down from 3.1 months in November and a revised 4.3 months in December 2011.  The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.  A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.
The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home edged up to 38.1 days in December 2012 from 37.5 days in November but was down from 58.7 days for the same period a year ago.