Southland Home Sales Strong in October

November 22, 2002

La Jolla,CA--Southland home sales experienced their strongest October since 1989, the result of affordable mortgage financing and steady demand.

A total of 29,048 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 10.8 percent from 26,216 for the month before, and up 13.1 percent from 26,092 for October last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

So far this year 284,498 homes have been sold in Southern California, the strongest for the January-to-October period since 1989 when 286,515 were sold. Sales levels are up most in the Inland Empire counties and in affordable neighborhoods elsewhere.

"There are still no signs of any impending downturn in the market, the technical indicators are still quite stable. The market is still in balance," said John Karevoll, DataQuick analyst.

The median price that Southland buyers paid for a home was $278,000 last month. That was down 0.4 percent from $279,000 for September, and up 19.3 percent from $233,000 for October 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 $1,309 in October. A year ago it was $1,143. The all-time peak was April 1989 at $1,360 when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Oct-01	No Sold Oct-02	Pct. Chg	Median Oct-01	Median Oct-02	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	9,411	10,422	10.7%	$227K	$273K	20.3%
Orange County	3,909	4,267	9.2%	$310K	$369K	19.0%
San Diego	3,942	4,441	12.7%	$272K	$339K	24.6%
Riverside	4,007	4,718	17.7%	$190K	$220K	15.8%
San Bernardino	3,431	3,693	7.6%	$146K	$164K	12.3%
Ventura	1,392	1,507	8.3%	$287K	$331K	15.3%
So. California	26,092	29,048	11.3%	$233K	$278K	19.3%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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