Strongest Southland September Since 1988

October 20, 2003

La Jolla,CA--The summer sales surge spilled into September as Southland buyers jumped into the market hoping to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates before they rose. Sales count were the highest for the season in fifteen years, while annual price increases exceeded 20 percent for the third month in a row.

A total of 32,813 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in September. That was down 4.7 percent from 34,437 for the month before and up 25.2 percent from 26,216 for September a year ago.

A decline from August to September is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the strongest for any September since 1988 when 34,653 homes were sold. So far this year 267,410 homes have been sold, up 4.7 percent from 255,450 for the same period last year.

"Many of last month's buyers were prompted by the summer's perception that interest rates would be rising. Now that interest rates have leveled off, we expect the sales counts to ease back a notch," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $335,000 in September. That was down 0.9 percent from August's $338,000 record high, and up 20.1 percent from $279,000 for September last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

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 $1,516 in September, down from $1,582 for the previous month and up from $1,300 for September a year ago, DataQuick reported.

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

All Homes	No Sold Sep-02	No Sold Sep-03	Pct. Chg	Median Sep-02	Median Sep-03	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	9,362	11,395	21.7%	$269K	$336K	24.9%
Orange County	3,848	4,956	28.8%	$368K	$431K	17.1%
San Diego	4,231	5,705	34.8%	$346K	$390K	12.7%
Riverside	4,110	5,225	27.1%	$215K	$261K	21.4%
San Bernardino	3,266	4,010	22.8%	$168K	$199K	18.5%
Ventura	1,399	1,522	8.8%	$333K	$415K	24.6%
So. California	26,216	32,813	25.2%	$279K	$335K	20.1%

Source: DQNews.com

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