New Home Sales Up 2.2% Over ‘89; Prices 0.7% Lower

Spurred by declining new home prices as builders begin bringing lower-priced models to market, home sales in Orange County last month climbed 2.2% from a year earlier, a regional real estate data service reported Wednesday.

Total sales of 4,266 new and used homes and condominiums were up from 4,173 a year earlier and represented the fifth-highest level in the past 18 months.

June sales were virtually unchanged from May’s 4,261 units, but industry analysts say even a small increase is a good sign because May is a traditionally strong month for home sales.

And in what may be the best news in months for new home shoppers, the June median price for a new home in the county was down 11.7% from May--to the rest of $251,703 from $285,156. Compared to a year earlier, June’s new home median also was 0.7% lower than the $253,433 figure for June, 1989.

The resale market, which typically accounts for 75% or more of all sales in the county, remained sluggish with June’s total sales of 3,539 units reflecting a nearly 1% drop from 3,573 sales in May.

June’s resales were up 6% from 3,337 units in June, 1989, however.

The median resale price of $249,917 was up 0.6% from $248,336 in May and was 1% higher than the $247,357 posted for June, 1989, TRW reported.

TRW’s monthly housing summaries combine single family and attached homes in the new and resale categories.

The combined median sales price for new and resale homes in the county last month was $250,331, up a scant 0.7% from $248,638 in June, 1989, and down 2.2% from May’s $256,043.

SLOWDOWN: Home resales throughout California fell again in June. A1