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California home sales rise 83 percent, prices fall

Business Materials 24 December 2008 01:43 (UTC +04:00)

California single-family home sales rose 83 percent in November and the median price fell below $300,000 for the first time since 2002 as buyers bought properties in foreclosure, the California Association of Realtors said, Bloomberg reported.

The number of existing single-family detached homes sold in the most populous U.S. state last month increased to 514,710 on an annualized basis, from 280,920 a year earlier, the Los Angeles-based association said today in a statement. Sales decreased 7 percent from October. The median home price dropped 42 percent to $285,680 from $490,511 a year earlier.

"Statewide sales registered a monthly decline for the first time since the first quarter of this year, reacting in part to the worsening situation in the economy, the financial sector, and in terms of consumer and business confidence," James Liptak, president of the association, said in a statement. "Despite the month-over-month decline, sales were above the 500,000 home level for the third consecutive month."

Tumbling home values are spurring sales in California, which had the most foreclosure filings of any U.S. state and six metropolitan areas among the top 10 highest foreclosure rates in November, RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of default data, reported Dec. 11.

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