Prices of New Valley Houses Increase 3.7%

New houses in the San Fernando Valley area sold for a median price of $205,800 in the 12-week period ended May 10, up 3.7% from $198,500 in the corresponding period a year earlier, according to a study by a real estate research firm.

The median sales price for new condominiums over the 12 weeks was $89,200, down 16.7% from $107,100 a year ago, but that figure was skewed by a single high-priced development that was selling in the 1985 period.

By contrast, the average price last month for existing single-family homes in the Valley area was $175,800, and was $113,700 for condos, according to the Valley Board of Realtors. In both cases, sales of existing units far exceeded sales of new ones.

The figures on new houses and condo sales were provided by the Comarc Systems division of Roulac & Co., the San Francisco real estate research company. Comarc publishes the Residential Housing Survey, which contains quarterly studies of new residential housing for several areas of California, including the San Fernando Valley.

Valley Defined

Comarc defines the Valley as the area from North Hollywood to Calabasas; its research only covers developments of 10 or more units.

The survey for the most recent period found that 231 detached homes were sold, 59% of the 390 on the market in the Valley area, and that a two-month supply remained available at the end of the period. The median asking price of these unsold houses was $237,300.

In the same period a year ago, 425 houses were sold, but that was only 33% of the 1,284 that were on the market.

Interest Rates’ Role

Diane Wilson, Roulac’s Southern California sales manager, noted that interest rates were considerably lower in the most recent period than they were a year earlier, strengthening the market for residential real estate.