New Home Sales in Kern County Extend the Latest Style

A new trend has befallen the Kern County new home market. For the second consecutive quarter, and despite another decline in the number of actively selling developments, net sales volume increased, according to MarketPointe™ Residential Trends™ Publication. This quarter’s net sales, all of it detached, represents a 13 percent increase from last quarter. While the first consecutive quarter increase since 2005 may signal a market on the mend, a more subdued approach is appropriate when you realize that this current second quarter is 24 percent below the volume of the second quarter of last year and nearly 65 percent less than the second quarter of 2007. “As fewer and fewer projects constitute the competition with the Kern County region, it will be difficult to return to the most recent ‘glory days’ of 2005, when crossing the 1,000-unit sales threshold was the norm” said Robert Martinez, Director of Research, MarketPointe™ Realty Advisors.

Weighted average price in the region resumed its negative direction, after the previous two quarters noted increases. This quarter’s weighted average detached price represents a 10 percent decline from last quarter. Also dropping this quarter was the weighted average home size with a 7 percent decrease per square foot. These price and size decreases resulted in a more than 3 percent decrease in the value ratio for a detached home, the lowest per square foot value on record.

Inventory in the 71 active detached projects, two of them audited for the first time this quarter, decreased for the fourth consecutive quarter. This quarter’s 6 percent decline pushed the total supply number to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2006. Of 7,279 total units of detached inventory this quarter, more than 92 percent constitute units within unreleased future phases of existing developments. Inventory that represents more immediately available supply stands at 565 units, a 5 percent decline from last quarter. Together, both unsold inventory and inventory that has not yet been made available to the marketplace represent close to nine years of total supply. However, the inventory that has been made available and remains unsold represents just over eight months of supply.

MarketPointe™ Realty Advisors provides new housing market statistics throughout California via its ResidentialTrends™ new-home database and its LandTracker™ proposed development database, as well as site specific, tailored housing market research and consulting services. Comprehensive “Housing Market Overviews” providing new home sales, pricing, housing inventory trends, future housing supply, and new and leading developments are available for regions across California by going to www.marketpointe.com/landing. Phone San Diego at 619-233-3781, Orange County at 714-528-2554, Sacramento at 916-710-1396; url:www.marketpointe.com.

Contact Information

Robert D. Martinez

Director of Research

MarketPointe™ Realty Advisors, Inc.

Contact via E-mail