The Southland’s housing market kicked off the new year with a sharp annual gain in home sales last month — the highest volume for a January in six years — as investors and cash buyers proliferated.
The Southern California rebound came as foreclosure starts statewide took a massive 77.7% tumble over the same period, according to a separate report.
On Tuesday, the real estate website ForeclosureRadar.com reported a 60.5% decline in the number of default notices issued in California in January compared with December. The number of default notices — the first formal step in the state’s foreclosure process — that were issued fell 77.7% from January 2012. A total of 4,500 such filings were logged last month, the lowest number since at least September 2006, when the website’s records begin.