Southern California home sales surge in March

April 19, 2002

La Jolla,CA--Southern California home sales last month reached levels normally only seen during summer months as prices rose to new peaks.

A total of 30,146 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 34.1 percent from 22,484 for the month before, and up 15.9 percent from 26,010 for March last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

An increase from February to March is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the highest since 32,386 homes were sold last August, and was the highest for any March since 1989 when 31,693 homes were sold.

"Last month's sales count would have been much higher if all the people who wanted to buy homes, had found homes to buy. Right now there just aren't enough on the market. This sets the stage for continued price increases," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $257,000 last month, a new record. That was up 4.5 percent from $246,000 for February, and up 12.7 percent from $228,000 for March last year. The median reached a new record for all counties except San Bernardino which is absorbing much of the region's surge in entry-level home buying. When adjusted for the shift in market mix, San Bernardino County's appreciation rate is about the same as the other Southern California counties.

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 $1,310 in March. A year ago it was $1,163. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360 when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Mar-01	No Sold Mar-02	Pct. Change	Median Mar-01	Median Mar-02	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	9,134	10,651	16.6%	$218K	$251K	15.1%
Orange County	4,327	4,833	11.7%	$292K	$332K	13.7%
San Diego	4,537	5,027	10.8%	$260K	$304K	16.9%
Riverside	3,653	4,411	20.8%	$180K	$202K	12.2%
San Bernardino	2,902	3,610	24.4%	$145K	$156K	7.6%
Ventura	1,457	1,614	10.8%	$278K	$312K	12.2%
So. California	26,010	30,146	15.9%	$228K	$257K	12.7%

Source: DQNews.com

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