Strongest April Ever for Southern California Home Sales

May 17, 2002

La Jolla,CA--The number of homes sold in Southern California last month was the highest for any April on record, the result of strong demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates. Prices reached a new peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 30,823 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 2.2 percent from 30,146 for the month before, and up 27.8 percent from 24,120 for April last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the second highest for any month since the late 1980s, behind 32,386 sold last August. It was the strongest April in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

"Borrowers are finding mortgages fairly easy to get, with interest rates below seven percent. The number of homes on the market is low while demand is high. Unless interest rates go up significantly, which most analysts don't think will happen, we'll see continued price increases on into summer and fall," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $258,000 last month, a new record. That was up 0.4 percent from $257,000 for March, and up 15.7 percent from $223,000 for April last year. The year-over- year increase was the strongest since June 1989 when prices reached $174,000, up 16.0 percent from $150,000 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 $1,313 in April. A year ago it was $1,159. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360 when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Apr-01	No Sold Apr-02	Pct. Change	Median Apr-01	Median Apr-02	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	8,921	11,268	26.3%	$215K	$254K	18.1%
Orange County	3,740	4,925	31.7%	$290K	$337K	16.2%
San Diego	3,956	4,841	22.4%	$264K	$297K	12.5%
Riverside	3,437	4,623	34.5%	$176K	$202K	14.8%
San Bernardino	2,820	3,610	28.0%	$142K	$156K	9.9%
Ventura	1,246	1,556	24.9%	$255K	$317K	24.3%
So. California	24,120	30,823	27.8%	$223K	$258K	15.7%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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