Sales of Homes Slide 31.7% in 1-Month Period
Ventura County home sales continued their six-month slide in July, dropping 27.1% from the same month last year and falling 31.7% from June.
For six consecutive months, home sales figures in the county have declined compared to the same months in 1994. Last month, 608 homes were sold across the county, down 282 from June, according to TRW-REDI Property Data. During July, 1994, 834 homes sold.
Economists and real estate agents blamed the sluggish market on consumers’ doubts about the local economy.
“The primary factors that preclude people from signing those escrow papers are, No. 1, the lack of consumer confidence . . . and, 2, the prospects for keeping one’s job,” said Ali Akbari, a professor of economics at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
Such doubts persist despite positive signs in the county’s economy, said Mark Schniepp, UC Santa Barbara economist. The first quarter of 1995 saw a 7% increase in retail sales throughout the county, he said, compared to an increase of just 2.7% statewide. Employment in the county has also improved, with June’s rate dropping a bit to 6.8%.
“It is puzzling to us to see sales not rebound in a substantial fashion,” he said. “We just don’t understand why Ventura hasn’t done better.”
Mary Hall, president of the Conejo Valley Assn. of Realtors, sees people from Los Angeles County shopping for homes in Ventura County, hoping to take advantage of the local schools and relatively clean air. But many potential buyers, she said, remain cautious.
“The buyers out there are very conservative and don’t want to commit,” she said. “They say, ‘Well, I think I’m going to wait awhile.’ ”
They may be waiting to see whether housing prices go lower, she said.
The average price of homes sold in Ventura County dropped last month from $232,596 in June to $224,513 in July, according to TRW-REDI. The average in July, 1994, stood at $228,046.
During the first seven months of the year, the average price of homes sold in the county declined 1.3%, said Nima Nattagh, an analyst with TRW-REDI.
The real estate slump also continues on the other side of the county line, Nattagh said. Sales last month in Los Angeles County were off 17% from a year before.
For the entire state, home sales during the first six months of 1995 dropped 21%.
“It’s not restricted to Ventura,” Nattagh said. “It’s statewide, and it’s nationwide. I don’t think Ventura is out of line with the rest of California.”
Local real estate agents held out hope that the market would turn around in the next few months. Judy Hoag, a broker with Paris & Associates Real Estate in Ventura, said an open house near the beach in Ventura over the weekend drew a lot of shoppers, including two real estate agents from Los Angeles. “I think there is interest there,” she said.
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Ventura County House Sales *--*
July, 1994 July, 1995 Number Average Number Average City/ZIP code of sales price of sales price CAMARILLO 93010 51 $233,865 47 $228,227 93012 26 $317,674 19 $275,632 93066 -- -- 2 $471,250 FILLMORE 93015 11 $158,773 6 $147,917 MOORPARK 93021 53 $246,198 40 $248,026 OAK VIEW 93022 6 $160,083 5 $172,500 OJAI 93023 28 $248,889 18 $236,083 OAK PARK 91301 32 $261,862 29 $259,284 OXNARD 93030 59 $184,791 37 $171,723 93033 34 $145,397 27 $157,813 93035 25 $244,065 18 $203,587 PORT HUENEME 93041 20 $145,495 13 $132,462 SANTA PAULA 93060 32 $165,484 14 $156,143 SIMI VALLEY 91307 1 $162,000 1 $450,000 93063 66 $181,411 53 $185,701 93065 82 $208,716 68 $203,587 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 60 $244,578 26 $272,120 91360 62 $221,275 53 $212,279 91361 21 $358,524 17 $308,412 91362 56 $380,412 30 $379,966 VENTURA 93001 29 $185,250 23 $293,286 93003 36 $197,235 36 $192,236 93004 41 $220,897 26 $200,458 COUNTYWIDE 834 $228,046 608 $224,513
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Source: TRW-REDI Property Data
