Record Million-Dollar Home Sales in Golden State

January 24, 2006

La Jolla, CA.----California million-dollar home sales in 2005 surged to a new peak for the fourth year in a row, as appreciation pushed a higher portion of overall sales into the seven-figure category, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 48,666 Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more last year. That was up 47.0 percent from 33,107 in 2004. The total was 19,080 in 2003 and 13,871 in 2002, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

One in thirteen homes sold for more than a million dollars last year, up from one in twenty the year before.

"In reality, the prestige market remained pretty stable from 2004 to 2005. But because of the increase in home values across the board, more sales prices crossed the million-dollar threshold. In other words, homes that would have sold for $900,000 in 2004, sold for more than a million last year," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

Statewide, there were 310 sales for more than $5 million last year, 327 sales were in the $4-$5 million range, 990 in the $3 million range, 3,937 sales in the $2 million range, and the rest between $1 million and $2 million.

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 numbers include home sales where it could be determined from public records that there was a buyer, a seller, that money changed hands, and that there was a legal transfer of property ownership. Not included were property swaps, sales of multiple lots, teardowns, and large farm or ranch properties. Home sales to companies were included, as were sales to trusts.

The most expensive confirmed purchase was a 13,636 square-foot 6-bedroom, 12-bathroom La Jolla house on six acres which went for $23,500,000 in September. The largest was a 7-bedroom, 8-bathroom 18,369 square-foot house on 2.2 acres in Solana Beach in San Diego County which went for $6,200,000 in August.

Ross in Marin County and Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County were communities where virtually all home sales were in the million- dollar category.

Several new million-dollar home markets emerged last year, mostly because of sales of newly-built large homes on big lots. The areas include Corona and Norco in Southern California, and Union City in the East Bay.

Newly-built homes accounted for 9,043 of last year's sales, up 73.6 percent from 5,210 for 2004. San Diego and Orange counties were the most active markets for newly-built million-dollar homes, DataQuick reported.

There were 2,902 condo sales in the million-dollar category, up 73.0 percent from 1,677 year ago. Most were sold in West Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

The median-sized million-dollar home was 2,480 sq.ft. with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The median price per square-foot for all million-dollar homes was $516, up 5.6 percent from $489 a year ago, DataQuick reported.

Around 10 percent of the buyers paid cash, down from 15 percent in 2004. Of those who financed their purchase, the median down payment was 28 percent of the purchase price. Lending institutions most willing to provide mortgage financing were Countrywide, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo.

Top 25 California Zip Codes
Ranked by the number of million-dollar homes sold in 2005*

Community	Zip Code	2004 Sales#	2005 Sales#	2005's Most Expensive
92037	La Jolla	464	478	$23.50 mill.
90266	Manhattan Beach	458	444	$5.25 mill.
94010	Hillsborough	384	396	$6.50 mill.
92130	Del Mar	327	379	$7.50 mill.
92677	Laguna Niguel	295	378	$6.74 mill.
95070	Saratoga	334	372	$5.80 mill.
92660	Newport Beach	343	371	$7.60 mill.
92648	Huntington Beach	196	360	$3.45 mill.
92253	La Quinta	201	354	$9.54 mill.
95014	Cupertino	247	347	$2.55 mill.
92657	Newport Beach	205	346	$10.00 mill.
92651	Laguna Beach	348	337	$12.18 mill.
91302	Calabasas	305	328	$7.50 mill.
90274	Rolling Hills Estates	309	315	$6.50 mill.
92679	Trabuco/Coto	296	308	$6.00 mill.
94506	Danville	270	307	$6.89 mill.
90275	Rancho Palos Verdes	274	303	$4.95 mill.
94941	Mill Valley	262	300	$5.00 mill.
95138	San Jose	210	285	$4.26 mill.
95120	San Jose	174	278	$3.70 mill.
94539	Fremont	208	274	$2.75 mill.
90272	Pacific Palisades	277	267	$8.30 mill.
94526	Danville	142	259	$3.15 mill.
90049	Brentwood	226	254	$5.32 mill.
94024	Los Altos	270	252	$4.50 mill.

*Where the sales price could be determined from public records

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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