REAL ESTATE : 3% Rise in Home Sales Seen for U.S. in ‘93, but Gains to Lag Here

Richard J. Loughlin, president of chief executive of Century 21 Real Estate Corp., says he expects to see a nearly 3% increase in home sales across the country this year--to 3.7 million from 3.6 million in 1992.

And with a sales boost will come housing price appreciation--remember that?

Unfortunately, Loughlin’s crystal ball is a lot more rose-colored when looking east and north than when focused on Orange County and the rest of Southern California.

Thus, while the chief of the Irvine-based international real estate franchise operation predicts 6% to 8% appreciation rates in the Midwest, Great Lakes and North Central states this year and even a 4% to 5% appreciation rate in Texas, of all places, Southern California will be lucky to see a 3% hike in average resale home prices, he said.

But even that would be good “compared to where we have been,” said Loughlin, referring to reports that resale home prices in Orange County and other Southland communities fell a bit in 1992.

That bit, according to TRW-Redi Property Data in Riverside, amounted to an average of $3,861 per home--a 1.5% decrease--in Orange County, where the average sales price of a previously occupied home was $247,143 last year.

One bright note: Loughlin said he believes mortgage interest rates will fall to below 8% again early this year.