Drop in Southland Home Sales Slows in First 10 Months of ’93

Southern California’s housing market may well have bottomed out in this latest real estate cycle, according to TRW REDI Property Data’s monthly report.

TRW REDI reports that in the first 10 months of this year housing demand in six Southland counties was down by less than 4% from the same period last year. Comparable figures for the same period show that between 1991 and 1992 demand dropped at a much higher rate of 14%.

“On the basis that the rate of decline has slowed down significantly, one could conclude with a reasonable degree of certainty that housing demand has leveled off,” said Nima Nattagh, TRW REDI’s market analyst.

TRW REDI reports that home purchases declined by slightly more than 4% in Los Angeles County and just under 2% in Orange, while Ventura registered an increase of 3.4%. San Bernardino, which has seen home purchases drop by 8.7%, however, appears to continue to be adversely affected by recent military base closures.

Southland Home Sales

The number of homes sold in Southern California, and the average prices of homes sold.

Jan.-Oct., Jan.-Oct., Percent 1992 1993 Change Los Angeles 61,551 58,884 -4.3% Orange 25,164 24,771 -1.6% Riverside 17,378 16,868 -2.9% San Bernardino 18,711 17,078 -8.7% Ventura 6,921 7,156 3.4% San Diego 22,561 21,982 -2.6% Total 152,286 146,739 -3.6%

*

Jan.-Oct., Jan.-Oct., Percent 1992 1993 Change Los Angeles $244,207 $234,409 -4.0% Orange 249,493 242,826 -2.7% Riverside 154,960 146,641 -5.4% San Bernardino 139,112 135,517 -2.6% Ventura 237,807 234,720 -1.3% San Diego 210,207 204,749 -2.6% Total 216,754 210,350 -3.0%