Talking Points …

  • According to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.), California pending home sales rose in October, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) climbing 2.5 percent in October to 109.3, up from 106.7 in September, based on signed contracts.  The monthly increase was considerably greater than the average September-to-October change of 0.7 percent over the past five years.
  • The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – dipped slightly in October, but still made up more than eight in 10 sales, marking the fourth straight month that equity sales have been more than 80 percent of total sales.
  • Housing inventory levels tightened slightly for the first time in five months but were still extremely low.  The Unsold Inventory Index for equity sales dipped from 3.5 months in September to 3.4 months in October.