DQNews Archived Article

SoCal Home Sales Surge

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
April, 1999

La Jolla, CA.— With a surge of buying activity in entry-level markets in March, home sales in Southern California are on track for a record-breaking year, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 26,684 new and resale houses and condos were sold Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura and San Bernardino counties in March. That was up 42.2 percent from 18,761 for February, and up 16.5 percent from 22,899 for March last year (1998), according to DataQuick Products Division.

March was the strongest March since 1989 when 32,917 homes were sold. The frenzied 1989 sales pace started declining after that month. There are no indications of any pending decline in current trends.

"Buyers were stretching themselves very thin ten years ago. They financed as much as they could, using adjustable-rate mortgages. The situation is different today, buyers are not overextending themselves," said Mike Ela, leader of DataQuick Products Division.

The typical mortgage payment for a median-priced Southern California home was $1,317 ten years ago. Today it is $950. The numbers do not take into account inflation, which would make the difference in affordability even more pronounced.

DataQuick Products Division monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. The sales counts are estimated for San Bernardino County because of a data gap for March.

March’s Southland median was $187,000. That was up 3.9 percent from $180,000 for February, and up 4.5 percent from $179,000 for March last year. The current wave of entry-level buying has caused shifts in market mix that have ‘tugged’ the median down. Home values are actually going up 8-9 percent, DataQuick reported.