Southland Home Sales Steady, Prices Up

June 21, 2001

La Jolla,CA--Southland home sales remained at a strong level in May as prices continued to climb, the result of strong appreciation in entry-level markets.

A total of 27,107 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 12.4 percent from 24,120 for April and down 3.1 percent from 27,968 for May last year.

The April-to-May increase was stronger than normal. The May sales count was the highest since August last year and the third strongest May that DataQuick has on record, behind last year and May 1989.

“Everyone is still watching carefully for signs of a slowdown, but it’s just not there yet in the numbers. There are shifts in the sales mix, though, now that activity and home price increases have moved into entry-level and mid-market neighborhoods,” said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $226,000 last month. That was up 0.9 percent from $224,000 for April and up 11.3 percent from $203,000 for May last year. The peak of $228,000 last March is expected to be passed in June or July.

DataQuick, a subsidiary 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. Because of late data availability, the numbers for Riverside County include estimated sales counts for the last days of the month.

The 11.3 percent year-over-year increase in median price understates appreciation because of higher sales of lower-priced homes. When adjusted for shifts in market mix, Southland home prices are going up around 13 percent. Entry-level markets are seeing a 14.8 percent rise in prices, while appreciation in move-up markets is 6.0 percent.

The typical mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,187 in May. A year ago it was $1,229 when interest rates were higher. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360.

All Homes	No Sold May-00	No Sold May-01	Pct. Change	Median May-00	Median May-01	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	10,119	10,007	-1.1%	$194K	$219K	12.9%
Orange County	4,660	3,929	-15.7%	$268K	$297K	10.8%
San Diego	4,692	4,478	-4.6%	$230K	$264K	14.8%
Riverside	3,919	3,997	2.0%	$158K	$179K	13.3%
San Bernardino	3,257	3,177	-2.5%	$138K	$143K	3.6%
Ventura	1,321	1,519	15.0%	$256K	$273K	6.6%
So. California	27,968	27,107	-3.1%	$203K	$226K	11.3%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

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