Value of Valley Homes Up 5% to Record $221,200

By JAMES F. PELTZ

Dec. 8, 1987 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

The cost of a single-family house in the San Fernando Valley jumped 5% in November to a record average of $221,200, up from $211,100 in October, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors reported Monday.

The price hikes were even more dramatic for condominiums, whose average sale price surged 17.3% last month to a record $144,900 from $123,500 the previous month, according to the real estate trade group.

It was the ninth time in the past 10 months that single-family house prices in the Valley reached a new high; the exception came in October when the average price inched down 1% from September’s level.

But prices climbed again last month, thanks in part to the limited number of houses for sale, along with unusually brisk demand, the board said.

Usually Sluggish

November and December usually are sluggish months for the residential real-estate business because potential buyers and sellers are preoccupied with the holidays. But last month provided “an extraordinary sellers’ market,” Jim Link, the board’s executive vice president, said in a statement.

“A good judge of market activity is the ratio of sales recorded each month compared to the number of homes listed for sale,” he said. “That indicator is red hot.”

In November, sales of single-family houses and condominiums combined fell 7% from October, to 1,241 units from 1,339. Yet, the number of new listings of houses and condominiums for sale in November dropped 22% to 1,680, from 2,145 in October.

“Normally we see between 1,900 and 2,000 homes listed for sale during November,” Link said. The shortage of houses and condominiums for sale, Link said, are “at levels that tend to push prices higher.”

Single-family houses in the Valley sold in November for an average 22% higher than in November, 1986, when the price was $180,800. The average price of a Valley house last month also was about 80% higher than the national average, which was $122,200 in October, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

The Valley realty board, California’s largest, reports sales of houses and condominiums by its members in the area from North Hollywood to Agoura.

Its statistics do not include most new residences, which are generally sold without a real estate agent, or existing homes that are sold by their owners.

North West

Avg. Price: $200,600

Sales: 36

North Central

Avg. Price: $208,300

Sales: 160

North East

Avg. Price: $124,100

Sales: 160

South West

Avg. Price: $267,884

Sales: 218