Southland Sales Surge

December 17, 2003

La Jolla,CA----Southern California home sales experienced its strongest November in 15 years, the result of robust demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates. Price increases appear to have eased back somewhat.

A total of 27,628 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November. That was down 15.0 percent from 32,522 for the month before and up 7.9 percent from 25,601 for November a year ago.

A decline from October to November is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the strongest for any November since November 1988 when 29,303 homes were sold. So far this year 327,560 Southland homes have been sold, up 5.6 percent from 310,099 for the same period last year.

Activity in the Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino accounted for 30.8 percent of all sales, the first time the 30 percent mark has been passed. Ten years ago it was 20.8 percent.

"We're carefully watching for any signs of change in current market trends and there really isn't anything of significance to report. Appreciation appears to be somewhat slower, but we've been expecting that for months," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $336,000 in November. That was up 0.9 percent from October's $333,000, and up 16.7 percent from $288,000 for November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems. That 16.7 percent year-over-year increase was the lowest since July 2002 when it was 16.2 percent. The annual price increase was 21.6 percent last August.

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 $1,533 in November, up from $1,519 for the previous month and up from $1,326 for November 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 Nov-02	No Sold Nov-03	Pct. Chg	Median Nov-02	Median Nov-03	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	9,098	9,388	3.2%	$281K	$339K	20.6%
Orange County	3,715	3,731	0.4%	$383K	$437K	14.1%
San Diego	4,034	4,688	16.2%	$349K	$393K	12.6%
Riverside	4,254	5,093	19.7%	$228K	$268K	17.5%
San Bernardino	3,136	3,425	9.2%	$175K	$211K	20.6%
Ventura	1,364	1,303	-4.5%	$343K	$403K	17.5%
So. California	25,601	27,628	7.9%	$288K	$336K	16.7%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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