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California home sales and prices both posted gains in December, with the median price posting strong double-digit gains for six straight months, C.A.R. reported.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 522,510 units, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide.  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.  It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
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.

http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=GLvAUEq3eEQnm-COOb8h6Q

The Wall Street Journal
Foreclosures starts jumped 28 percent in January compared with December, although starts were down 11.5 percent from the same month in 2011, according to data firm Lender Processing Services.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/03/06/are-more-new-foreclosures-a-good-thing/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real%20Estate_BLOGSDEVELOPMENTSFEED

The Los Angeles Times
The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller index of 20 American cities fell 1.1 percent from November to December and 4 percent from December 2010.
Read the full story
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-home-prices-20120228,0,1131448.story

California home sales rose for the third consecutive month in December, marking the highest level since January 2011, according to data from C.A.R.  Sales also were up from a year ago, marking the sixth consecutive annual increase.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 520,940 in December, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide.  December’s sales were up 3.3 percent from November’s revised pace of 504,420 and were up 0.1 percent from the revised 520,330 sales pace recorded in December 2010.

The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home posted its second consecutive monthly gain, increasing 1.8 percent to $285,920 in December, up from a revised $280,960 in November.  However, the median price was down 6.2 percent from the revised $304,770 median price recorded in December 2010.

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