Southland Home Sales High, Prices Up

September 24, 2001

La Jolla,CA--Home sales in Southern California surged to the highest level in twelve years, the result of reasonable mortgage interest rates and strong demand. Prices are increasing at a moderate pace and reached new highs last month.

A total of 32,386 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 11.9 percent from 28,944 for the month before, and up 12.7 percent from 28,739 for August last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the highest since June 1989 when 32,968 homes were sold. So far this year 204,848 homes have been sold in the region, up 1.7 percent from 201,454 for the same eight-month period last year.

"It's difficult to predict what effect the tragedy of two weeks ago will have on home sales. Sales will certainly drop short term because of uncertainty and turbulence. But there is a good chance the market will kick back into gear because of steady demand in the region and low mortgage interest rates," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $237,000 last month, a new record. That was up 1.3 percent from $234,000 for July and up 12.3 percent from $211,000 for August 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

The typical mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,205 in August. A year ago it was $1,185 when interest rates were higher. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Aug-00	No Sold Aug-01	Pct. Change	Median Aug-00	Median Aug-01	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	10,443	12,324	18.0%	$205K	$231K	12.7%
Orange County	4,729	5,100	7.8%	$274K	$308K	12.4%
San Diego	4,798	5,181	8.0%	$237K	$274K	15.6%
Riverside	3,918	4,396	12.2%	$162K	$185K	14.2%
San Bernardino	3,471	3,637	4.8%	$147K	$150K	2.0%
Ventura	1,380	1,748	26.7%	$251K	$280K	11.6%
So. California	28,739	32,386	12.7%	$211K	$237K	12.3%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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