By Robert Lewis

Home sales in Sacramento and statewide improved in November from the previous month, although a year-over-year comparison shows the sluggish housing market is persisting.

That’s according to new figures the California Association of Realtors released Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of single-family detached home sales statewide was up 9.2 percent in November from October but dropped 8.6 percent when compared with a year ago, according to CAR data.

In Sacramento, sales were up 5.7 percent from the previous month and down 1.5 percent from 2009.

“We are encouraged by November’s sales increase, but realize a more sustained recovery is being hampered by the distressed market,” CAR President Beth Peerce said in a news release announcing the figures.

Peerce added that the cumbersome short sale process is hurting the market. A short sale occurs when a lender agrees to let a home be sold for less than is owed on outstanding mortgage loans. Lenders can reject such deals and move forward with foreclosure.

Peerce said lenders have been slow to communicate whether they will accept a short sale.

“The housing market can’t fully recover until lenders streamline and improve the short sale process, which would help expedite transactions,” Peerce said in the release.

The number of homes on the market dropped a bit in November when California had enough single-family detached homes on the market to meet current demand for 6.2 months. That’s down from a 6.5-month supply in October. CAR attributed the drop to seasonal factors and the foreclosure moratorium. November’s inventory was still up from a year ago, when the market had 4.5 months’ worth of homes.

The median time it took for a home sale in November was 54.7 days, compared to 33.1 days a year ago.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/23/3277254/november-home-sales-rose-in-state.html#ixzz19jBG8bNw