Home sales spiked up for Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo in March as we start into the spring buying season. Fueled by historically low interest rates, we’re seeing spirited competition at the entry point range for single family homes.

We’re also seeing that the high number of distressed properties are influencing the price points of those homes, forcing traditional sellers to meet those price points or face having their home sit on the market.

The demand locally for available homes is creating a fierce battle between buyers looking for a “good deal” and banks trying to move product quickly. Home prices in Ventura and Oxnard have been steady this first quarter and Camarillo saw in jump in March.

Pending home sales are a leading indicator of current market activity. What is remarkable is the spike in Ventura for homes that are  in escrow for Q1 of this year (263) as compared to Q1 of ’11 (197). See the detailed numbers below.

The percentage of single family homes that were distressed sales in the month of  March are:

Ventura – 47%      Oxnard – 69%      Camarillo – 41%

Sold prices – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph
• Quarterly graph ending Q1

Sold prices – Condos in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph
• Quarterly graph ending Q1

Numbers sold – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph
• Quarterly graph ending Q1

Detailed data for single family homes sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed data for condos sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed monthly data for pendings (in escrow) – single family homes and condos:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

All data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

March saw a substantial spike in the filings of new foreclosures.  Data from Foreclosure List Service saw that January and February had been around 400 new filings per month or less, but March jumped into the low 500s.

One reason we believe we’re seeing this increase is because now that the major banks have settled their claims with the Federal government and the states, they will move to deal with the “shadow inventory” of non-performing loans. We are seeing individual filings with $50,000 to $100,000 (or more) amounts in default – meaning payments haven’t been made for 2 – 3 years.

Here is the monthly chart.

Here is the quarterly chart.

January home sales numbers dropped for Ventura, Camarillo and Oxnard, but only because not as many buyers are in the market during the holiday season of November and December. These numbers will pick up as the first of the home buyers from January start closing escrow later this month and in March.

But single family home price points jumped in January for Ventura while Camarillo and Oxnard essentially remained steady.  Condo price points for the 3 cities are mixed.

The percentage of single family homes that were distressed sales in the month of  January are:

Ventura – 32%      Oxnard – 61%      Camarillo – 51%

Sold prices – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Sold prices – Condos in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph
  

Numbers sold – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Detailed data for single family homes sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed data for condos sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed monthly data for pendings (in escrow) – single family homes and condos:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

All data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

January’s Notice of Default recordings showed an upward spike after a slide in recordings over the past several months.   See the monthly graph.  The number of actual foreclosures still hovers around 200 a month, but with the 3 month delay between the filing of the NOD and the filing of the Notice of Trustee Sale, we anticipate seeing a spike in the number of properties going to sale later this month.

The last several months of 2011 saw a slow down in new foreclosure filings, but not because things were getting better. Lenders were trying to clean up the “robo signing” mess, even though California’s foreclosures weren’t directly involved in that scandal.

Some states (like Florida) are judicial foreclosure states, meaning every foreclosure must be done through the court, whereas California’s foreclosure process is done through a defined process established by statute.

Some believe the rate of foreclosures may pick up in 2012. However, this week a coalition of state Attorney Generals are close to a deal with the nation’s largest lenders to provide mortgage relief (loan mods with principle reductions) which may slow down the number of foreclosures – and boost the values of real estate.

Here’s the data:

Monthly graph – last 12 months

Quarterly graph since 2006 ending Q4 2011