Movoto Team in Foreclosures, Homes for Sale, Inventory, Los Angeles Real Estate, Market Trends, Median Home Price, Northern California, Real Estate, Southern CaliforniaMay 7, 2008

Movoto Releases April 2008 California Home Market Statistics

Redwood City, CA — May 7, 2008 — http://www.movoto.com/, the spot on the internet to find and buy a home in Northern California and Southern California, today released the company’s monthly California home inventory report. Movoto’s report is drawn from nine different local California multiple listing services and gives a snapshot of local inventories of homes for sale, average list prices, time on market and inventory of distressed properties.

Except for the Inland Empire and San Diego, April ending home inventories in California moved strongly upward. Average list prices were mixed with just over half of California counties tracked showing a decrease in list price. Distressed properties as a percentage of the total market continued to increase; several California counties now have over 40% of listed properties in the distressed category.

April ending Home for Sale inventories are UP across Movoto’s coverage area with 14 of 18 counties showing an increase in listings. It appears that strong sales activity has reduced inventory in a few markets with high levels of distressed properties and continuing high levels of foreclosure activity. Unfortunately, other areas are not absorbing distressed properties as quickly.

Average list prices were MIXED March to April with 10 California counties showing a decrease in average list price and 8 counties showing an increase in average list price. The mixed changes in price continue to reflect the wide variation in market conditions across the state.

April’s inventory aging report shows a lower percentage of homes on the market less than 30 days and a general increase in the share of homes on the market 30 to 90 days. Again this month, 3 counties had more than 60% of their inventory on the market more than 60 days. In total, 14 counties have 50% or more of their inventory on the market greater than 60 days. The trend in Days On Market indicates that new properties are coming on the market in lower numbers, but inventory increases are currently driven by homes staying on the market longer.

“Distressed Properties” share of the market showed an across the board INCREASE with only San Mateo County showing a decline. 8 counties in California now have more than 30% of their home for sale inventory in the “Distressed” category and there are even 3 counties with distressed inventories over 40% of the market. These increases in distressed properties directly reflect the continuing impact of record default and foreclosure levels across California. 10 cities in our coverage area currently have more that 60% of properties in the “distressed” category.

Movoto defines distressed properties as any property that has an agent note in the MLS that defines the property as “Bank Owned”, “In Foreclosure”, “Short Sale” (where the owner is trying to sell at a price below the mortgage balance to avoid foreclosure) or “REO” (a term used to indicate the property is bank owned).