Home Prices, Purchases in Southland Drop, TRW Says

Further evidence of the depressed Southland housing market emerged last week as TRW REDI Property Data released home price and purchase activity report for May. Year-over-year changes show a drop of more than 3% in average price and a staggering 24% in the number of homes purchased in the six-county region.

TRW REDI Property Data monitors real estate transactions based on county records and provides information to banks, title companies, appraisers and real estate consultants.

Average price of a home fell by 4% in Los Angeles County, 2% in Orange County and just under 5% in Ventura County in the year ending May, 1992. In San Bernardino and San Diego counties, prices remained fairly stable while Riverside recorded a price appreciation of about 2%.

Demand for both new and existing homes dropped significantly, according to TRW. Overall number of homes purchased for the year ending May, 1992, fell 24%.

Average Prices All Homes ($)

May 1991 May 1992 Percent change Los Angeles 257,946 247,185 -4.2 Orange 256,007 250,234 -2.2 Riverside 154,859 158,101 2.1 San Bernardino 141,509 140,431 -0.7 San Diego 211,094 210,268 -0.4 Ventura 242,911 231,669 -4.6

Number of All Homes Sold

May 1991 May 1992 Percent change Los Angeles 9,695 7,324 -24.4 Orange 4,195 2,980 -28.9 Riverside 2,669 1,977 -25.9 San Bernardino 2,565 2,134 -16.8 San Diego 3,016 2,488 -17.5 Ventura 1,054 811 -23.0 S. California 23,194 17,714 -23.6 Southern California Home Purchases By Price Range (Percent of Total) Price Range ($) May 1991 May 1992

Southern California Home Purchases by Price Range (Percent of Total)

Price Range May 1991 May 1992 Less than 175,000 43.8 47.1 175,001-250,000 29.0 28.2 250,001-325,000 13.1 11.9 325,001-600,000 11.7 10.2 More than 600,000 2.4 2.6