DQNews Archived Article

Southland Home Prices Up, Sales Strong

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
November, 2000

La Jolla, CA.— Home sales in Southern California remained strong last month as prices edged up to another peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 24,480 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 6.4 percent from 26,151 for September, and five sales higher than 24,475 for October last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from September to October is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the strongest for any October since 1989 when 29,653 homes were sold. So far this year 252,303 Southland homes have been sold, up 0.3 percent from 251,447 for the same ten month period last year.

"The sales counts would be higher if more homes were on the market. Unfulfilled demand is putting some pressure on prices, which we expect to continue going up well into next year and beyond," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a home in the region was $214,000 last month, a new record. That was up 0.5 percent from $213,000 for September, and up 12.0 percent from $191,000 for October last year. The year-over-year increase is expected to ease back to around ten percent for the remainder of the year.

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 typical mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,186 in October, up from $1,184 the month before. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360, when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.