Southland Sales Level Off
Prices Continue to Rise

November 16, 2004

La Jolla,CA----Sales volume in Southern California's real estate market dropped for the fourth month in a row in October. Prices continued to increase, especially in lower-cost areas, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 28,189 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in October. That was down 5.9 percent from September's 29,942 and down 13.3 percent from 32,522 for October last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last year's regionwide sales count was the highest for any October DataQuick has in its records, which go back to 1988. Historically, sales for the month of October have ranged from 14,608 in 1991 to the 32,522 last year. Year-over-year sales were off 1.2 percent in San Bernardino County while they were off 24.6 percent in Orange County.

"It's starting to look like prices in many of the more expensive neighborhoods have leveled off or have come down slightly from a summer peak. In mid-market and entry-level neighborhoods it appears that both sales activity and appreciation remain strong," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $410,000 last month, another record. That was up 0.2 percent from $409,000 in September, and up 23.1 percent from $333,000 for October 2003.

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 $1,811 in October, up from $1,809 for the previous month, and up from $1,519 for October a year ago. The typical payment is still about 14 percent below the prior peak of $2,098 (inflation-adjusted) for April 1989.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Foreclosure rates are low, down payment sizes are stable and slight increases in flipping rates and non-owner occupied buying activity have leveled off, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Oct-03	No Sold Oct-04	Pct. Chg	Median Oct-03	Median Oct-04	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	11,805	9,709	-17.8%	$332K	$409K	23.2%
Orange County	4,655	3,508	-24.6%	$440K	$532K	20.9%
San Diego	5,179	4,758	-8.1%	$387K	$489K	26.4%
Riverside	5,278	5,070	-3.9%	$262K	$339K	29.4%
San Bernardino	3,988	3,941	-1.2%	$204K	$266K	30.4%
Ventura	1,617	1,203	-25.6%	$401K	$518K	29.2%
So. California	32,522	28,189	-13.3%	$333K	$410K	23.1%

Source: DQNews.com

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