Real Estate Lending Drops 33% in 2nd Quarter

Real estate lending in Ventura County plummeted more than 33% in the second quarter from the same period a year ago, DataQuick Information Systems reports.

The decrease, from $1.249 billion in the second quarter of 1994 to $830 million in the same three months this year, was the steepest in Southern California and one of the most severe in the state.

Despite the downturn, Donald L. Cohn, DataQuick’s chief executive, expects Southern California’s housing market to show a year-to-year improvement in the third quarter.

In another report, the California Assn. of Realtors said June sales of single-family homes in the county were up 26% from May but down nearly 24% from a year ago.

Median home prices in the county during June fell nearly 5% from a year ago but advanced nearly 6% over May, 1995.

The median house price was $205,400 in June. That compared with $216,000 in June, 1994, and $194,000 in May, 1995.