Southern California home sales jump in January

February 22, 2002

La Jolla,CA--A surge in Southland homes made last month the strongest January in thirteen years, the result of reasonable mortgage interest rates and a surge in sales of affordable homes.

A total of 22,011 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 11.6 percent from 24,913 for the month before, and up 22.2 percent from 18,010 for January last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from December to January is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the highest for any January since 23,379 homes were sold in 1989.

"Some of the January surge may be spillover activity, deals that couldn't close in December. Lenders, appraisers and title companies have been scrambling because of the refinance boom, and some December escrows had to be extended into January. Last month's jump in sales, though, was also the result of a surprisingly strong real estate market," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The jump in sales was particularly noticeable in lower cost Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which are attracting an increasing portion of Southern California's first home buyers. The two counties account for half of all sales under $125,000, up from one third five years ago.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $236,000 last month. That was down 4.5 percent from $247,000 for December, and up 12.9 percent from $209,000 for January last year. The month-to-month decline is normal for the season. The year-over-year increase was the strongest since July 1989 when prices rose 14.7 percent to $179,000 from $156,000 a year earlier.

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 monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,195 in January. A year ago it was $1,066. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Jan-01	No Sold Jan-02	Pct. Change	Median Jan-01	Median Jan-02	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	6,614	8,087	22.3%	$200K	$235K	17.5%
Orange County	2,746	3,134	14.1%	$276K	$308K	11.6%
San Diego	2,999	3,329	11.0%	$243K	$273K	12.3%
Riverside	2,629	3,388	28.9%	$165K	$189K	14.5%
San Bernardino	2,155	2,958	37.3%	$140K	$149K	6.4%
Ventura	867	1,115	28.6%	$258K	$284K	10.1%
So. California	18,010	22,011	22.2%	$209K	$236K	12.9%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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