Southland Home Sales Flatten Out

October home sales in Southern California were flat, indicating a slowdown in real estate activity, according to TRW REDI Property Data, a real estate information company. Still, home sales so far this year are 17% higher than the same period a year ago.

TRW REDI reports that between January and October more than 171,000 new and existing homes closed escrow compared to just under 150,000 a year ago. Within the Southern California region all counties have posted strong gains, with Orange County showing a very healthy increase of 22%.

“The slowdown in October sales was anticipated and is due to the usual seasonal factors. Long-term trends in sales activity, however, show clearly that Southern California’s housing market is experiencing a modest recovery,” said Nima Nattagh, TRW REDI’s market analyst.

Southland Home Sales

Jan.-Oct., ’93 Jan.-Oct., ’94 Change No. Average No. Average No. Average Los Angeles 58,884 $234,432 68,456 $231,956 16.3% -1.1% Orange 24,771 $242,833 30,206 $244,348 21.9% 0.6% Riverside 16,868 $146,537 19,992 $145,419 18.5% -0.8% San Bernardino 17,078 $135,437 19,323 $132,359 13.1% -2.3% San Diego 21,982 $204,830 25,145 $209,879 14.4% 2.5% Ventura 7,156 $234,716 8,330 $230,457 16.4% -1.8% Total 146,739 $210,048 171,452 $209,929 16.8% -0.1%