Merced County housing market cools in winter

A research firm says California home sales in November slid sharply from a month earlier, extending an autumn cool-down as prices rose.

CoreLogic Inc. said Thursday that about 31,000 new and existing homes and condominiums sold last month in California, down 21 percent from October. Sales typically fall during that time but this year’s decline was unusually sharp.

Sales were still up 3 percent from the same period last year, and the latest month-to-month decline follows a brisk summer.

Terry Ruscoe, owner of Merced Yosemite Realty, said people are less likely to make a purchase and move during the holidays.

He said his Merced firm has had a busier-than-normal season.

“Our phones are ringing more than usual this year,” he said.

Ruscoe, whose firm also works in general contracting, said he attributes the increasing activity to Merced’s potential for growth. He pointed to UC Merced’s planned $1 billion expansion and plans for a high-speed rail stop in town.

He said real estate agents were bracing to learn how the market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s raising Wednesday of interest rates by a quarter-point. The move, which ended a seven-year period of near-zero borrowing rates, raised rates to a range of 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent.

“I’m hoping that that’s not going to put some cold water on our sales activity, but it usually does,” Ruscoe said.

Home prices across Merced County continued to rise year over year, according to CoreLogic. The median price for the 128 homes sold in October was $214,500, compared with $187,500 at the same time last year, a 14.4 percent increase.

Merced saw 51 sales that month while Los Banos saw 30, according to the research firm. While Merced’s median sales price of $175,000 is lower than at the same time last year, Los Banos’ median price climbed to $235,000.

Prices in Los Banos are increasing at a healthy rate, according to Geneva Brett, a real estate agent with Century 21 M&M and Associates. She too noted that sales slow during the holidays.

“We’re down a little bit from where we were a year ago,” she said.

The prices per square foot have decreased from their high point in September, she said. Sales are driven by both Bay Area buyers and first-time home buyers.

Brett said that because sales slow in the winter, it typically makes for a buyer’s market.

“It’s a great time to buy a home, because it’s reasonable,” she said.

The statewide median sales price was $415,000, up 3 percent from October and up 8 percent from November 2014. It marks the 45th straight month of annual price increases, though gains have moderated since the middle of 2014.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Merced County housing market cools in winter."