C.A.R. releases "2009-2010 Survey of California Home Sellers"

A recent report by the California Association of Realtors finds 67 percent of California sellers sold their homes due to inability to meet their mortgage obligation. Changes in family and employment status as well as adjustments to monthly mortgage obligations played significant roles in California’s homeowners’ decisions to sell their homes in 2009.

C.A.R. President, Steve Goddard, stated that tighter underwriting standards for refinances coupled with a decline in home equity impacted the market in 2009. “Many homeowners chose to sell last year because their adjustable-rate mortgage reset at the same time home prices were experiencing an unprecedented decline, leaving them with little equity and difficulty in qualifying for a refinance.”

On average, homes sold for $20,958 less than the original asking price in 2009. The median difference between the listing and the selling price was $32,315. The percentage of first time sellers also grew to 44 percent in 2009, a 33 percent increase from 2008, and nearly three times the amount from 2007 of 15 percent of first time sellers.