DQNews Archived Article

Southland Home Sales Down

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
August, 2000

La Jolla, CA.— Sales in Southern California homes eased off last month from their hectic pace of the last year, the result of tight inventory and a temporary rise in mortgage interest rates, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 24,261 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 16.9 percent from 30,346 for June and down 15.8 percent from 28,206 for July last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

So far this year 172,933 Southland homes have been sold, up 0.2 percent from 172,580 for last year's January-to-July period, and the most since 197,801 homes were sold during the first seven months of 1989.

"Was last month's decline the beginning of a downward trend? Probably not. The growing economy is still generating demand for homes, but there's an ongoing shift in market mix right now. Demand is growing for entry-level homes and is leveling off in the move-up and prestige markets," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The year-to-date numbers show that sales are up in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and down in the other counties.

DataQuick, a business unit of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $205,000 last month, down 2.4 percent from June's record high of $210,000, and up 6.2 percent from $193,000 for July last year. Because of the increase in entry-level home buying, the rise in median currently understates the appreciation rate, which is now around 10 percent, DataQuick reported.