Unsold Homes Inventory Drops for Third Time

The mid-year 1987 inventory of unsold new housing in six Southland counties fell to a new low of 12,221, down 22.1% from the 15,688 unsold units at mid-year 1986, and 19.2% from the 15,116 at year-end 1986, according to the Real Estate Research Council of Southern California.

The inventory of unsold attached units in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties declined to 4,611 units--the lowest level in the decade, according to Michael Carney, executive director of the Pomona-based research group.

Compared to mid-year 1986, the unsold inventory of single-family detached houses fell 7%, while unsold attached units fell 39%, Carney said. The report was released at Thursday’s quarterly meeting of the council at the Mayfair Hotel.

The latest six-month fall in unsold inventory--the third in a row--was different in composition from the previous decrease, Carney said.

In the second half of 1986, total unsold inventory fell because completed units decreased (while units under construction increased), and detached inventory rose slightly, while attached units fell, he said.

In contrast, in the first half of 1987, unsold inventory in all categories decreased: Completed units declined 18% to 3,701 and units under construction fell 20% to 8,520. Detached inventory fell 13% and attached unsold units dropped 28%, Carney added.

Ventura County had both the smallest unsold inventory--675 units--and the largest percentage decrease from mid-year 1986--down 37.4% from 1,079 units. Unsold houses in San Diego County declined 30.2% from 3,545 in mid-1986 to 2,474 in mid-1987.

Los Angeles County, excluding the Westside, central Los Angeles and the west San Gabriel Valley, registered a 28.6% decline, from 2,851 to 2,036 units, while unsold units in Riverside County declined 20.8%, from 4,269 to 3,383 units.

Orange County registered a 13% decline, from 1,748 unsold units in mid-1986 to 1,521 in mid-1987, while San Bernardino County recorded the smallest decline in unsold inventory, down 2.9% from 2,196 unsold units in mid-1986 to 2,132 in mid-1987.

The survey of unsold housing was conducted for the real estate research group by Market Profiles, Costa Mesa, Carney said.