Department Name

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOUSING REPORT FOR AUGUST 2012
San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
William W. Roberts, Ph.D., Director 818-677-4582

San Fernando Valley year-over-year home sales are up again. In August 2012, 1,577 units were sold.  This is up 11.1 percent over July 2011 sales of 1,419 units.  Valley home sales were up from last year by over 10 percent in each of the past five months.  Sales are up over the prior year’s level in all seven Valley areas we track. The year-over-year increases range from 2 percent in the Central Valley to 22.7 percent in the Burbank/Glendale area. Sales are now back to the levels we saw in late 1995 as we were recovering from the Northridge Earthquake.

                                                 August 2012               July 2012                    August 2011         
SFV Home Sales                           1,577                         1,463                            1,419
12 month Change                          11.1%

The Valley’s August 2012 median price of a single-family, detached home was $400,000.  This is UP 9.6 percent from the median price of $365,000 in August 2011.  Valley median home prices peaked at $660,000 in May 2007.  Since then, the lowest median price level we observed was $347,500 in March 2009.  The July and August 2012 median prices of $400,000 are the highest median prices we have seen since $405,000 in December 2010.  The year 2010 was a year of significant stimulus spending.  Median prices appear to be on a slow, steady rise over the past seven months.  Price changes over the past year are mixed, ranging from a 6.7 percent increase in the Burbank/Glendale area to an 11.8 percent decline in the West Foothills.  The overall price increase of 9.6 percent results from greater sales in higher priced areas.

                                                  August 2012                 July 2012                 August 2011   
SFV Median Price                        $400,000                     $400,000                    $365,000
12 month Change                             9.6%

Notices of Default (NODs) in August 2012, at 714, are DOWN 48.8 percent from August 2011.    NODs peaked in March 2009 at 2,539 and have trended down since then.  NODs continue to remain highest in Olive View and Pacoima.  NODs have generally trended down since August 2010 and have hovered between 600 and 1,000 for the past nine months.

                                                   August 2012                 July 2012                 August 2011         
SFV NODs                                          714                             877                          1,383     
12 month Change                            -48.4%

August 2012 foreclosures were 235.  This is DOWN 50.1 percent from the August 2011 level of 471.  Foreclosures have been down substantially from the prior year’s level every month this year.  We are now at about 25 percent of the highest levels observed in 2008 and 2009.  Foreclosures continue to be highest in Olive View and Pacoima.  We expect foreclosures to continue around 200 per month for the rest of the year. 

                                                     August 2012                 July 2012                 August 2011
SFV Foreclosures                                235                             227                           471
12 month Change                             -50.1%
LA County Foreclosures                       1,274                          1,126                         2,260         
12 month change                                -43.6%