Record February for Southland Home Sales

March 17, 2004

La Jolla,CA----Southern California home prices surged to a new record last month. Sales counts were at their highest for the season in over fifteen years, the result of strong buyer interest and affordable mortgages, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 23,004 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in February. That was up 1.6 percent from January's 22,652 and up 2.2 percent from 22,516 for February last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the highest for any February DataQuick has in its records, which go back to 1988.

"We hadn't anticipated numbers this strong, but, then again, we thought mortgage interest rates would edge up a bit, not down. The thinking is that today's activity may be drawing from future sales activity, that buyers want to get in while the interest rates are low. Today's lack of homes for sale is certainly giving prices an extra push," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $351,000 in February, a new record. That was up 2.3 percent from $343,000 in January, and up 20.2 percent from $292,000 for February 2003. Year- over-year price increases have been around 20 percent since last summer and are expected to ease back to around 15 percent by summer.

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 $1,542 in February, up from $1,502 for the previous month and up from $1,330 for February a year ago. The payment number peaked at $1,582 last August, 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 Feb-03	No Sold Feb-04	Pct. Chg	Median Feb-03	Median Feb-04	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	7,576	7,723	1.9%	$284K	$352K	23.9%
Orange County	3,385	3,248	-4.0%	$384K	$475K	23.7%
San Diego	3,725	3,927	5.4%	$357K	$406K	13.7%
Riverside	3,822	4,198	9.8%	$236K	$285K	20.8%
San Bernardino	2,913	2,990	2.6%	$178K	$207K	16.3%
Ventura	1,095	918	-16.2%	$348K	$440K	26.4%
So. California	22,516	23,004	2.2%	$292K	$351K	20.2%

Source: DQNews.com

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