Home of the Nation’s Largest Mortgage Market : Real estate: The Southland made up 10% of all 1994 loans to buyers in major metro areas, report says. In O.C., $7.1 billion was lent.
Southern California home sales aren’t soaring like they used to, but the Southland was the nation’s largest mortgage market last year, according to TRW REDI Property Data.
Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties accounted for 10% of all loans made to home buyers in the nation’s major metropolitan markets, the report issued Friday stated.
The three coastal counties, which accounted for 9.8% of all home purchase mortgages in 1993, also saw increases in average amount lent, an indication of that lenders are putting more money into the Southern California mortgage market.
“The reality is the California economy is coming back and gaining momentum,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County.
Now that the recession has eroded the prices of new and existing homes, the housing market is rebounding, said Sanford Goodkin, president of real estate consulting firm Sanford R. Goodkin & Associates in San Diego.
“Housing in Southern California has simply come down to the point where more people can afford to buy here,” he said.
In its survey of the nation’s 200 largest counties, TRW REDI ranked Los Angeles County at the top with 88,027 mortgages funded last year for the purchase of new and existing homes. Orange County was fourth with 37,603 home loans, and San Diego was sixth with 33,799 loans.
Each of the counties saw increases in home sales: Los Angeles rising 14.1%, Orange 16.8% and San Diego 7.5%.
“Lenders look at loan amounts more than the number of loans to see what areas are hot,” said Nima Nattagh, TRW REDI’s real estate market analyst.
The amount of money lent for home purchases in Los Angeles County last year was $15 billion, 12.5% higher than the previous year and nearly twice the amount given to those buying homes in second-ranked Cook County (Chicago) or in Orange County, where the total amounts lent were $8.2 billion and $7.1 billion, respectively. Nearly $5.4 billion was lent for home purchases in San Diego County.
The average loan in Orange and San Diego counties climbed slightly last year. The average amount grew 1.9% in Orange County to $187,458--among the highest in the nation--and 1.6%, to $159,232, in San Diego County. The average mortgage amount slid 1.4% in Los Angeles County to $170,531.
For lenders, the hottest markets were third-ranked Maricopa County (Phoenix) and ninth-ranked Clark County (Las Vegas). TRW REDI’s report shows that they are the fastest-growing markets, with the number of loans last year rising 22.1% in Maricopa County and 36.1% in Clark County.
Top Mortgage Markets
Despite some economic troubles, Orange County was the fourth-busiest mortgage market in the United States last year. The nearly 38,000 mortgages funded here totaled slightly more than $7 billion and averaged $187,458. How the nation’s top 20 markets stack up:
1994 % Change Total Value Average Total Rank County mortgages (billions) value mortgages 1. Los Angeles 88,027 $15.01 $170,531 14.1% 2. Cook, Ill. 70,687 8.15 115,280 6.5 3. Maricopa, Ariz. 60,313 5.89 97,662 22.1 4. Orange 37,603 7.05 187,458 16.8 5. Harris, Tex. 34,466 3.16 91,552 7.6 6. San Diego 33,799 5.38 159,232 7.5 7. Broward, Fla. 32,325 3.14 97,071 19.7 8. Dade, Fla. 32,142 2.93 91,120 8.2 9. Clark, Nev. 28,907 2.96 102,451 36.1 10. King, Wash. 27,104 3.79 139,974 5.6 11. Dallas, Tex. 25,189 2.35 93,258 11.3 12. San Bernardino 23,661 2.66 112,267 12.4 13. Riverside 22,854 2.70 118,024 17.0 14. Palm Beach, Fla. 20,775 2.16 103,809 12.1 15. Santa Clara 20,407 4.23 207,382 9.9 16. Du Page, Ill. 20,224 2.65 131,203 -1.9 17. Fairfax, Va. 19,969 3.54 177,044 7.8 18. Tarrant, Tex. 19,114 1.72 89,924 6.1 19. Middlesex, Mass. 17,963 2.72 151,423 4.6 20. Alameda 17,400 3.05 175,218 4.8 Nationwide total 1,583,788 $193.37 $122,093 10.8%
from 1993 Total Rank value 1. 12.5% 2. 10.2 3. 28.7 4. 19.0 5. 5.4 6. 9.2 7. 23.1 8. 8.7 9. 29.9 10. 8.9 11. 8.1 12. 7.8 13. 13.1 14. 14.2 15. 12.5 16. 2.0 17. 9.8 18. 5.5 19. 7.5 20. 5.7 12.7%
Source: TRW REDI Property Data
