Average Resale Price for Houses Reaches $308,100
The average resale price of a single-family house in the San Fernando Valley in June climbed 7% from the previous month to a record high $308,100, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors said Monday.
The latest average--which marked the first time it surpassed $300,000--eclipsed the $287,400 average price in May. It was up 24% from the $248,800 price recorded in June, 1988, the board said.
The higher prices in June came despite a 10% drop in sales of single-family houses last month, to 1,209 units from 1,338 in May. Sales also fell 21% from a year earlier, when 1,525 units were sold.
Condominium Resales
Condominium resales, meanwhile, totaled 369 in the Valley in June, down 23% from the 481 sold in May and down 7% from the 395 sold in June, 1988, the board said.
The average resale price of condominiums last month fell 7% to $143,400 from a record high $153,400 in May but was up 12% from the $128,100 average a year ago.
The board suggested that average prices overall remained strong amid lower sales last month because a greater percentage of the sales that did occur involved relatively expensive properties. Sales of single-family houses and condominiums priced between $200,000 and $400,000 accounted for 41% of all sales last month; a year earlier, they accounted for 30% of all sales.
Rise in Interest Rate
Regardless, the lower overall sales last month also reflected the rise in mortgage interest rates that occurred in the spring, which helped reduce housing demand throughout much of the nation. Mortgage rates have since fallen sharply again--with fixed rates on conventional 30-year-loans dropping below 10% in some cases--but housing analysts don’t expect to see the impact of the lower rates on sales until this month’s results are known.
In the meantime, the continued lofty prices for Valley housing spurred a record number of homeowners to put their properties on the market last month, the board said. But the rush of new listings is giving house buyers more to choose from and therefore could slow the escalation of prices, the board said.
‘They Now Are Competing’
“Because of the volume of listings on the market, sellers who priced their property hoping to get top dollar may have to reconsider and realize they now are competing for buyers,” board President Buddy Bernard said in a statement.
A record 3,750 owners listed their houses on the Multiple Listing Service in June, up 10% from 3,401 in May and up 36% from 2,750 a year ago. Overall, there were 9,673 active listings available last month, the board said.
JUNE VALLEY HOUSE SALES
NORTH WEST Avg. Price: $300,200 Sales: 57
NORTH CENTRAL Avg. Price: $316,800 Sales: 182
NORTH EAST Avg. Price: $180,500 Sales: 211
SOUTH WEST Avg. Price: $393,300 Sales: 245
SOUTH CENTRAL Avg. Price: $329,500 Sales: 195
SOUTH EAST Avg. Price: $310,300 Sales: 319
