DQNews Archived Article

Million Dollar Home Sales Down 1995

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
January, 1996

La Jolla, CA.— Sales of million-dollar homes in California declined last year, a real estate information service reported. A total of 1,680 Golden State homebuyers paid more than a million dollars for their houses and condos in 1995. That was down 7.7 percent from 1,821 in 1994. It was well ahead of 1993's total of 1,177 and slightly behind 1,776 for 1992, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The sales decline was most apparent in the Malibu-Santa Monica-Beverly Hills-West Los Angeles area, which accounts for most of the state's million-dollar home sales (see chart). Sales in the Bay Area, San Diego County and the Palm Springs area were up, while sales in Orange and Santa Barbara counties were flat. "The prestige-home market is actually doing pretty well these days. It's just that a lot of the properties that used to be in the million-dollar category, aren't anymore. They're selling for 35-40 percent less than they would have six or seven years ago. Bargain-hunters are making some very nice deals these days," said Donald L. Cohn, DataQuick CEO.

The most expensive home sold last year was an 11,731 square-foot Rancho Santa Fe house that went for $7.52 million in March. Twenty-one of the million-dollar homes were more than 10,000 square-feet in size. The average size was 4,485 sq.ft. - up from 4,377 sq.ft. in 1994. Last year's largest house sold was a 21,651 square-foot Beverly Hills residence with 8 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms which sold for $6.54 million in December. Bathrooms generally outnumber bedrooms in million-dollar homes.

The sales figures include all homes bought by individuals where a sales price of more than $1 million could be determined. Nine of the homes sold for more than $5 million, another thirteen were in the $4 million range, 36 were in the $3 million range and 173 were in the $2 million range. The rest were between $1 million and $2 million. Buyers paid cash in 428 of the 1,680 purchases. That is 25.5 percent, well below normal for this market segment, but well ahead of the 7.9 percent for the home market as a whole. Buyers who finance usually have to make a downpayment of 40 percent.

The most active lending institutions in the million-dollar home market are Bank of America, Chase Manhattan and American Savings, according to DataQuick. There were 79 condos among the million-dollar residential sales. Most were sold in West Los Angeles as well as in Indian Wells. Zip code 90210 of television fame had the highest sales count with 123 sales. Zip 92067 Rancho Santa Fe had 83 sales and 90049 Bel Air had 61. DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides data to consumers, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Millon-Dollar Home Sales - 1994-1995

Community	Num. Sold	Num. Sold	Most Expensive
	1994	1995	Sold 1995
Los Angeles (w/Bel Air)	230	169	$6.50 mill.
Beverly Hills	139	130	$6.54 mill.
Rancho Santa Fe	75	88	$7.52 mill.
San Francisco	61	76	$3.25 mill.
Newport Beach	60	59	$3.90 mill.
Los Altos	39	57	$3.95 mill.
Pacific Palisades	67	52	$3.74 mill.
Hillsborough	60	49	$2.80 mill.
Atherton	24	43	$4.60 mill.
La Jolla	36	42	$5.40 mill.
Santa Monica	53	42	$2.80 mill.
Malibu	63	37	$4.00 mill.
Saratoga	35	34	$2.00 mill.
Belvedere Tiburon	38	28	$2.35 mill.
Indian Wells	18	26	$4.13 mill.
Pasadena	18	34	$2.88 mill.
Encino	23	21	$2.62 mill.
Palos Verdes Estates	33	19	$2.64 mill.
Woodside	18	19	$3.60 mill.
Corona del Mar	13	18	$2.82 mill.
Laguna Beach	26	18	$3.10 mill.
Los Gatos	10	16	$2.20 mill.
San Marino	25	16	$2.69 mill.
Santa Barbara	25	15	$2.20 mill.
Palo Alto	12	14	$1.80 mill.

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

For more information call John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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