HOUSING: Sales may be way down from...

HOUSING: Sales may be way down from last year (above), but prices aren’t. . . . The California Board of Realtors says the median cost of an Orange County house or condo sold last month was nearly 6% higher than last year (D5). . . . A board spokesman said persistent high prices and mortgage rates in such expensive areas as Orange County will “further constrain sales activity in the coming months.”

Home Sales are Off Orange: -17.2% Los Angeles: -19.4% Riverside/San Bernardino: -4.5% San Diego: 1.5% Percentage change in home sales in Southland counties between May, 1990 and May, 1989.

Source: California Assn. of Realtors