DQNews Archived Article

SoCal Home Prices Surge

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
December, 1997

La Jolla, CA.— Sales of Southern California homes continued in November at the highest level of the decade while prices continued to rise at their fastest pace since early 1990, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 18,257 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the month of November. That was down 20.3 percent from October's 22,898 and up 8.8 percent from 16,785 for November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from October to November is normal for the season. There have been year-over-year sales increases 22 of the last 23 months and sales counts have been the highest of the 1990s for each of the last three calendar months.

"Prices started to come around in an inconsistent manner about a year-and-a-half to two years ago, depending upon the category and neighborhood. Now the appreciation rates are steady and seem to have kicked in pretty much everywhere," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $172,000 in November. That was up 0.6 percent from $171,000 for October and up 6.8 percent from $161,000 for November last year. The year-over-year increase was about the same as it was in September and October, which was the highest since February 1990 when prices rose 7.9 percent from $165,000 to $178,000.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide, and provides information to consumers, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. The numbers include estimated data for San Bernardino County's last day of the month.

All Homes	#Sold	#Sold	Pct	Median	Median	Pct
	Nov-96	Nov-97	Chng	Nov-96	Nov-97	Chng
Los Angeles	6,826	7,020	2.8%	$162K	$171K	5.6%
Orange County	2,819	3,166	12.3%	$190K	$210K	10.5%
San Diego	2,424	3,092	27.6%	$173K	$182K	5.2%
Riverside	1,971	2,036	3.3%	$129K	$133K	3.1%
San Bernardino	1,863	2,001	7.4%	$121K	$123K	1.7%
Ventura	882	942	6.8%	$186K	$207K	11.3%
So. California	16,785	18,257	8.8%	$161K	$172K	6.8%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1997 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.

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