Southland Sales Surge

January 21, 2004

La Jolla,CA----Home sales in Southern California stayed at near- record levels in December, the result of strong demand and affordable mortgages. Inland Empire sales hit record highs. Prices moved up to another peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 32,423 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December. That was up 17.4 percent from 27,628 for the month before and up 10.0 percent from 29,485 for December 2002.

An increase from November to December is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the highest for any December since 1988 when 32,454 homes were sold.

"This market just keeps on going and there are no indications that things will change during the next couple of months. We do expect the pace of home price increases to ease back somewhat by spring," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $346,000 in December, a new peak. That was up 3.0 percent from November's $336,000, and up 19.7 percent from $289,000 for December 2002, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Year-over-year price increases have varied from 16.7 percent to 21.6 percent during the last twelve months.

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 $1,545 in December, up from $1,533 for the previous month and up from $1,329 for December 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 Dec-02	No Sold Dec-03	Pct. Chg	Median Dec-02	Median Dec-03	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	10,207	11,059	8.3%	$279K	$345K	23.7%
Orange County	4,435	4,693	5.8%	$385K	$467K	21.3%
San Diego	4,920	5,469	11.2%	$357K	$405K	13.4%
Riverside	4,830	5,679	17.6%	$226K	$272K	20.4%
San Bernardino	3,644	4,110	12.8%	$174K	$215K	23.6%
Ventura	1,449	1,413	-2.5%	$348K	$414K	19.0%
So. California	29,485	32,423	10.0%	$289K	$346K	19.7%

Source: DQNews.com

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