Resales of Houses and Condos : Increase 1% in June, Board Says : Real estate: The slight improvement dampens optimism generated by an 8% surge in May. Prices continue to decline.
Despite a continuing decline in prices, the regional housing market showed only a flicker of improvement in June, as sales of single-family houses and condominiums nudged up 1% from a year ago, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors reported Monday.
Resales of single-family houses in the Valley climbed 9% in June, to 800 from 731 a year earlier. But condominium sales plunged 30% in June, to 141 units from 202 in the previous year.
In all, 941 houses and condos changed hands last month. That was down 4% from May, when combined sales surged 8% from May, 1992, giving brokers a sense of optimism after many months of lackluster activity.
“It’s still a struggle,” said Neil Cooper, a North Hollywood broker.
Overall, prices of both single-family houses and condominiums in the Valley continued to decline last month. The average price of a single-family house dropped 5% in June, to $268,100 from $282,800 a year earlier. The median price, or the point where half sold for more and half sold for less, dropped 7%, to $204,500 from $220,000.
The average price of a condominium sold in the Valley last month also dropped 5%, to $152,000 from $161,100 in June, 1992. The median price of a condo plunged 9%, to $135,000 from $148,000.
Jim Link, executive vice president of the realty board, encouraged first-time buyers to give condominiums in the Valley a good look. There are condominiums in the Valley for less than $100,000, he said. “Where can you rent an apartment that includes all the amenities and pay only $500 per month?”
As usual with the onset of summer, the supply of houses and condominiums for sale in the Valley bulged in June, rising 5% from May, to 13,063 units. But that is still 13% below June of last year when a record 14,954 properties were up for sale.
The Valley realty board, the largest in California, reports housing sales by its 7,000 members in the area from North Hollywood to Calabasas. Its figures do not include sales of most new residences.
June Valley Home Sales
NORTH WEST
* Avg. Price: $268,900
* Sales: 36
NORTH CENTRAL
* Avg. Price: $241,000
* Sales: 110
NORTH EAST
* Avg. Price: $160,500
* Sales: 108
SOUTH WEST
* Avg. Price: $321,500
* Sales: 268
SOUTH CENTRAL
* Avg. Price: $264,500
* Sales: 108
SOUTH EAST
* Avg. Price: $265,300
* Sales: 170
