New Records for Southland Home Prices in September

October 17, 2002

La Jolla,CA--Home prices in Southern California inched up to a new peak last month, the result of steady demand and affordable mortgage financing. Sales counts were strong but not record-breaking.

A total of 26,216 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 14.7 percent from 30,732 for the month before, and up 5.8 percent from 24,777 for September last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The decline from August to September is normal for the season. So far this year 255,450 homes have been sold, up 11.2 percent from 229,625 for the same period last year. Sales levels are very strong in the Inland Empire counties and in affordable neighborhoods elsewhere. Sales are leveling off in prestige neighborhoods.

"This is a normal cycle. When the market recovered after the recession, prestige markets recovered first. Mid-market and entry- level neighborhoods followed a year or two later. We expect homes in affordable markets to sell well and appreciate for quite a while longer," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price that Southland buyers paid for a home was $279,000 last month, a new peak. That was up 0.4 percent from $278,000 for August, and up 18.2 percent from $236,000 for September last year. The year-over-year increase was the strongest since the late 1980s.

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 $1,300 in September. A year ago it was $1,186. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360 when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Sept-01	No Sold Sept-02	Pct. Chg	Median Sept-01	Median Sept-02	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	8,831	9,362	6.0%	$231K	$269K	16.5%
Orange County	3,736	3,848	3.0%	$305K	$368K	20.7%
San Diego	4,116	4,231	2.8%	$275K	$346K	25.8%
Riverside	3,653	4,110	12.5%	$189K	$215K	13.8%
San Bernardino	3,069	3,266	6.4%	$147K	$168K	14.3%
Ventura	1,372	1,399	2.0%	$287K	$333K	16.0%
So. California	24,777	26,216	5.8%	$236K	$279K	18.2%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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