Southland home sales, prices still near peak

November 15, 2005

La Jolla,CA----Southland home sales were up slightly for the third month in a row, led by strong sales in the Inland Empire and increased inventory levels regionwide. Appreciation rates remain in the mid-teens, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 28,489 new and resale homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 10.2 percent from 31,470 in September, and up 1.1 percent from 28,189 for October last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

While sales declined on a year-over-year basis during the first half of this year, they have increased since August. So far this year 299,109 homes have been sold, down 0.1 percent from 299,421 for the same ten months last year.

"The big question is still whether or not the real estate market will end this cycle with a crash, or with a soft landing. Right now the latter scenario is still the most likely. Home values have doubled in the past four years and almost all, if not all, of those gains are here to stay," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $473,000 last month. That was down 0.4 percent from $475,000 in September, and up 15.1 percent from $410,000 for October 2004. The peak was in August at $476,000.

Year-over-year changes in the median have been in the mid-teens since April. The year-over-year change in the median price ranged last month from 4.9 percent in San Diego County to 33.1 percent in San Bernardino County. The median in both counties hit a new peak.

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 $2,169 last month, up from $2,092 for the previous month, and up from $1,811 for October a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are about five percent below their peak in the spring of 1989.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Foreclosure activity is edging up from its bottom, but is still low. Down payment sizes are stable, as are flipping rates and non-owner occupied buying activity , DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Oct-04	No Sold Oct-05	Pct. Chg	Median Oct-04	Median Oct-05	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	9,709	9,792	0.9%	$409K	$492K	20.3%
Orange County	3,508	3,614	3.0%	$532K	$606K	13.9%
San Diego	4,758	4,155	-12.7%	$489K	$513K	4.9%
Riverside	5,070	5,542	9.3%	$339K	$391K	15.3%
San Bernardino	3,941	4,217	7.0%	$266K	$354K	33.1%
Ventura	1,203	1,169	-2.8%	$518K	$596K	15.1%
So. California	28,189	28,489	1.1%	$410K	$473K	15.4%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

Copyright 2005 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.