O.C. Home Sales Jump Nearly 13% in 3rd Quarter

Sales of new and existing homes in Orange County jumped nearly 13% in the third quarter as compared to the same quarter last year, according to TRW Redi Property Data.

A total of 9,558 homes were sold in the county during the past three months, an increase from the 8,474 homes sold during the third quarter of 1993, the Riverside-based property data firm found. The average price for an Orange County home was up 2.1%, to $249,603 from $244,565.

Still, home sales in Orange County during the third quarter are down 6.3% from the April-June quarter this year, when 10,205 homes were sold.

“It’s really a seasonal business. I don’t think it means the market is weakening,” said Nima Nattagh, an analyst with TRW, who said that in the six counties that make up Southern California, both Orange and Los Angeles counties posted the healthiest sales gains.

New and existing homes sales in Los Angeles County were up nearly 14% for the quarter, though home prices barely budged. For the third quarter, an average sale price was $231,672 as compared to $231,328 reported for the same period last year, an increase of 0.1%.

Because Los Angeles was especially hard-hit by the real estate downturn, Nattagh noted it was encouraging to see sales gains in both Los Angeles and Orange counties.

“It’s interesting that both Los Angeles and Orange counties are leading Southern California,” he said. “It shows the depth of the recovery we’re experiencing.”