New Southland Price Record - Sales Off Peak

January 18, 2005

La Jolla,CA----The Southern California residential real estate market finished off 2004 with new price peaks and a strong, but not record-breaking sales pace, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 30,317 new and resale homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in December. That was up 10.4 percent from November's 27,459, and down 6.5 percent from 32,423 for December last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

An increase in sales from November to December is normal for the season. Last month's sales count made it the third strongest December in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

"The market ended last year with a flourish. We need to remember, though, that we're further along in the real estate cycle. Which, with the possible exception of the Inland Empire, means that we're closing in on the end stage," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

"The big question now is whether the cycle will play itself out in 2005 with a soft landing or with a turbulent crunch. Right now the soft landing scenario appears the most likely," Prentice added.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $424,000 last month, another record. That was up 2.2 percent from $415,000 in November, and up 22.5 percent from $346,000 for December 2003. All months in 2004 had year-over-year price increases of more than 20 percent.

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 $1,869 in December, up from $1,811 for the previous month, and up from $1,545 for December a year ago. The typical payment is still about 14 percent below the prior peak of $2,115 (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 Dec-03	No Sold Dec-04	Pct. Chg	Median Dec-03	Median Dec-04	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	11,059	10,242	-7.4%	$345K	$418K	21.2%
Orange County	4,693	4,214	-10.2%	$467K	$551K	18.0%
San Diego	5,469	4,807	-12.1%	$405K	$491K	21.2%
Riverside	5,679	5,412	-4.7%	$272K	$371K	36.4%
San Bernardino	4,110	4,334	5.5%	$215K	$281K	30.7%
Ventura	1,413	1,308	-7.4%	$414K	$522K	26.1%
So. California	32,42	30,317	-6.5%	$346K	$424K	22.5%

Source: DQNews.com

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