Continued Strong Southern California Home Sales

June 20, 2002

La Jolla,CA--Southern California continued to see strong home sales last month, the result of steady demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates. Prices reached a new peak for the third month in a row, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 32,391 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 5.1 percent from 30,823 for the month before, and up 18.7 percent from 27,291 for May last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the highest for any month since June 1989 when 32,968 homes were sold. It was the strongest May in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

So far this year 137,855 homes have been sold in the region, up 21.5 percent from 113,471 for the same period last year. The sales count for January-May 1989 was 136,058.

"There seems to be the perception of a frenzy in the real estate market these days, but market basics are still solid. Prices are not out of line when you take into account today's low interest rates and the availability of low down payment mortgages. Supply is tight right now, but that will change as prices continue to go up,” said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $264,000 last month, a new record. That was up 2.3 percent from $258,000 for April, and up 16.8 percent from $226,000 for May last year. The median so far this year is $254,000, up 14.4 percent from $222,000 for the same five-month period 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 monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,327 in May. A year ago it was $1,187. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360 when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold May-01	No Sold May-02	Pct. Change	Median May-01	Median May-02	Pct. Change
Los Angeles	10,007	11,753	17.4%	$219K	$258K	17.8%
Orange County	3,929	5,091	29.6%	$297K	$346K	16.5%
San Diego	4,478	5,297	18.3%	$264K	$315K	19.3%
Riverside	4,069	4,974	22.2%	$179K	$202K	12.8%
San Bernardino	3,289	3,615	9.9%	$145K	$152K	4.8%
Ventura	1,519	1,661	9.3%	$273K	$322K	17.9%
So. California	27,291	32,391	18.7%	$226K	$264K	16.8%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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