Southland Home Sales Strongest Since 1988

August 20, 2003

La Jolla,CA--Home sales in Southern California reached their highest level in fifteen years last month, the result of sustained demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates.

A total of 33,561 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 7.0 percent from 31,369 for the month before, and up 9.6 percent from 30,609 for July last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was highest since September 1988 when 34,653 homes were sold. Both San Bernardino and Riverside counties had all-time sales records in July.

Southern California sales so far this year have now passed last year's. From January to July a total of 200,160 homes were sold, in 2002 the number for the seven months was 198,502.

"The recent rise in mortgage interest rates didn't influence sales volume in July, and we really don't know what will happen with August volume. Sales could go down because of the higher interest rates, or they could go us as fence-sitters jump into the market. It'll be interesting to see which of these factors is strongest," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price that Southland buyers paid for a home was $328,000 last month, a new record. That was up 2.2 percent from $313,000 for June, and up 20.6 percent from $272,000 for July 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 $1,442 in July, up from $1,314 for the previous month and up from $1,281 for July a year ago, DataQuick reported. The all-time peak was in May 1989 at $1,453.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Foreclosure rates are low, flipping rates are low, adjustable-rate mortgage usage is low, down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold July-02	No Sold July-03	Pct. Chg	Median July-02	Median July-03	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	10,889	11,926	9.5%	$266K	$328K	23.3%
Orange County	4,664	5,046	8.2%	$360K	$428K	18.9%
San Diego	4,962	5,687	14.6%	$333K	$382K	14.7%
Riverside	4,730	5,398	14.1%	$208K	$254K	22.1%
San Bernardino	3,743	3,977	6.3%	$160K	$196K	22.5%
Ventura	1,621	1,527	-5.8%	$331K	$403K	21.8%
So. California	30,609	33,561	9.6%	$272K	$328K	20.6%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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