Southland Home Sales High, Prices Up

July 25, 2001

La Jolla,CA--Home sales in Southern California had their second strongest month in twelve years as prices reached a new peak in June, the result of steady demand and strong entry- and mid-level markets.

A total of 30,008 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 10.7 percent from 27,107 for May and down 1.1 percent from 30,346 for June last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The sales count for June last year was the strongest since August 1989 when 32,145 homes were sold. No calendar month of the 1990s had sales above 30,000.

"We're surprised. It has been apparent for a while that any economic slowdown would lag in its effect on home sales. It appears that demand is being generated at a steady pace and that potential home buyers are finding homes they can afford," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $233,000 last month, a new record. That was up 3.1 percent from $226,000 for May and up 11.0 percent from $210,000 for June last year.

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 and San Bernardino counties include estimated sales counts for the last days of the month.

The typical mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,205 in June. A year ago it was $1,210 when interest rates were higher. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold June-00	No Sold June-01	Pct. Change	Median June-00	Median June-01	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	11,393	11,159	-2.1%	$203K	$228K	12.3%
Orange County	5,167	4,389	-15.1%	$273K	$301K	10.3%
San Diego	5,018	5,085	1.3%	$232K	$271K	16.8%
Riverside	3,958	4,258	7.6%	$158K	$182K	15.2%
San Bernardino	3,351	3,387	1.1%	$142K	$145K	2.1%
Ventura	1,459	1,730	18.6%	$255K	$277K	8.6%
So. California	30,346	30,008	-1.1%	$210K	$233K	11.0%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

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