Southland passes half million mark

April 18, 2006

La Jolla,CA----The median price paid for a Southern California home passed $500,000 for the first time last month as sales continued to decline, the result of higher mortgage interest rates and a real estate cycle that has passed its frenzy phase, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a home in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties was $501,000 last month. That was up 4.4 percent from $480,000 in February and up 14.1 percent from $439,000 for March a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The regional year-over-year increase in median has varied from 12.9 percent to 17.0 percent the last 12 months. Last month's increase ranged from 5.7 percent in San Diego County to 23.2 percent in San Bernardino County.

`We still expect the annual increase in median to go down into the single digits sometime this summer. San Diego County is still the market furthest along in this cycle. Price increases there have been below ten percent the last eleven months,` said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

A total of 29,509 new and resale Southland homes were sold last month. That was up 48.2 percent from 19,905 in February and down 9.7 percent from 32,674 for March last year.

An increase from February to March is normal for the season. Sales have declined on a year-over-year basis the last 4 months.

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 $2,383 last month, up from $2,251 for the previous month, and up from $2,037 for March a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are about 8.4 percent above typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Financing with adjustable-rate mortgages has dropped significantly during the last three months. 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 Mar-05	No Sold Mar-06	Pct. Chg	Median Mar-05	Median Mar-06	Pct. Chg
Los Angeles	10,878	9,755	-10.3%	$440K	$506K	15.0%
Orange County	5,033	3,910	-22.3%	$565K	$623K	10.3%
San Diego	5,018	4,146	-17.4%	$477K	$504K	5.7%
Riverside	5,915	6,267	6.0%	$379K	$413K	9.0%
San Bernardino	4,327	4,182	-3.4%	$298K	$367K	23.2%
Ventura	1,503	1,249	-16.9%	$535K	$610K	14.0%
So. California	32,674	29,509	-9.7%	$439K	$501K	14.1%

Source: DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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