O.C. Home Sales Decline Slows : Real estate: Third-quarter totals were the best so far this year, off only 11% from the same 1994 period and signaling a firming market.
Orange County home sales slid only about 11% during the third quarter, a signal that the local market’s yearlong downward spiral might be coming to an end, according to a real estate data firm.
The decline in home sales during the past three months is the smallest quarterly decline so far this year and a sign that the county housing market might be firming, according to Dataquick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based real estate data firm.
“We’re not out of the woods but at least we can see the end of the woods,” said John Karevoll, analyst with Dataquick. “The declines have leveled off in Orange County--that’s all there is to it.’
In the first quarter, Orange County sales dropped 23.5% from the same time a year ago. They declined 24.7% in the second quarter, as the county’s bankruptcy filing on Dec. 6 and poor weather damaged the market during the winter and spring months, Dataquick said.
So a quarterly drop of only 10.9% was hailed as a blessing by beleaguered real estate brokers.
“The local real estate market will be shaking off these doldrums and stabilizing in the next few quarters. This is just the start,” said Anil Puri, economist with Cal State Fullerton. “The rest of 1995 can only get better.”
Puri predicted only slow improvement in the local housing market but said the county’s bankruptcy recovery plan and lower interest rates would help the market comeback.
The Orange County real estate market has suffered all year. For the period since January, the number of closed escrows fell nearly 20% compared with last year, and median home prices declined 4% to $194,000, Dataquick said.
Now, rock-bottom home prices are helping to stimulate sales, with more buyers in the market, brokers said. Many predicted that sales would increase by the year’s end.
“I see this market stabilizing. We’re seeing a tremendous increase in buyer activity in the past two months,” said Michael Davar, sales manager for Coldwell Banker in Mission Viejo. “Sales are up and in certain areas so are prices.”
Still, the countywide median home price fell to $193,000 during September, down 5.9% from the previous year. Home values have declined a total of 18% during the past five years in Orange County, according to Dataquick.
County home sales improved in August but fell 11.5% in September from the same month last year. Closed escrows dropped 11.3% from August.
“August was excellent, the best month in the past year, but sales fell back again in September,” said John MacElwee, a real estate broker in Tustin.
Other real estate specialists, noting that the fall and holiday seasons are not typically strong for home sales, said the market might not see too much improvement by the end of the year.
“There’s still no urgency for home buying now. People don’t think interest rates are going up so they are sitting on the fence,” said Bob McFarland, senior vice president of Market Profiles, a real estate consulting firm in Costa Mesa.
McFarland said he doesn’t expect the local real estate market to improve during the last quarter of this year.
“The desire to buy a home always wanes after school starts and then we are into the holidays,” he said. “But we think 1996 will be much better.”
Patricia Moore, executive vice president of the Orange Coast Assn. of Realtors, with 1,500 members in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and other coastal areas, blamed publication of the housing sales drops and the county bankruptcy for putting a damper on home sales this year.
She predicted sales would improve by the year end.
“I think we’re going to start seeing a steady upswing,” she said. “I sure hope so, anyway.”
New-home sales were down 22.3% during the third quarter from the same time the previous year, a bad signal for area home builders. Still, more than 350 people visited model homes last weekend at Las Flores, a South County community that isn’t officially open yet. Spokeswoman Diane Gaynor said the Santa Margarita Co. development could contain up to 2,500 homes when completed, though none are built yet.
“We are seeing a lot of interest,” she said.
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Orange County Home Sales
Orange County home sales in September declined 11.5% and the median price dropped 5.9% compared with last September. Home sales and median price by ZIP code:
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Percent Median Percent Highest Community ZIP Sales change price change price Aliso Viejo 92656 124 -11.4% $160,000 -17.1% $350,000 Anaheim 92801 24 0.0% $143,000 -7.7% $180,000 Anaheim 92802 16 -15.8% $150,000 -5.7% $215,000 Anaheim 92804 41 -6.8% $153,000 -1.3% $230,000 Anaheim 92805 53 29.3% $146,000 -2.0% $300,000 Anaheim 92806 15 -25.0% $177,000 4.1% $224,000 Anaheim 92807 47 -7.8% $229,000 5.0% $630,000 Anaheim 92808 75 -9.6% $152,000 -22.4% $490,000 Brea 92621 42 31.3% $205,000 3.5% $285,000 Buena Park 90620 33 -10.8% $162,000 1.3% $202,500 Buena Park 90621 11 -42.1% $175,000 1.2% $254,000 Corona del Mar 92625 15 -31.8% $650,000 20.4% $2,610,000 Costa Mesa 92626 33 -15.4% $204,000 -6.0% $350,000 Costa Mesa 92627 36 -7.7% $210,000 8.8% $471,000 Cypress 90630 34 -45.2% $206,000 -10.4% $420,000 Dana Point 92624 8 60.0% $250,000 47.9% $703,500 Dana Point 92629 42 -14.3% $215,000 -13.3% $915,000 Fountain Valley 92708 56 19.1% $228,000 0.4% $360,000 Fullerton 92631 25 47.1% $163,000 3.2% $1,000,000 Fullerton 92632 11 0.0% $146,000 8.1% $175,000 Fullerton 92633 24 -48.9% $146,000 -32.4% $325,000 Fullerton 92635 19 -17.4% $207,000 -21.9% $427,000 Garden Grove 92640 42 20.0% $139,000 -7.9% $210,000 Garden Grove 92641 23 35.3% $151,000 -1.9% $227,000 Garden Grove 92643 23 -32.4% $141,000 -7.8% $175,000 Garden Grove 92644 19 0.0% $147,000 14.0% $220,000 Garden Grove 92645 20 53.8% $173,000 -6.0% $238,000 Huntington Beach 92646 45 -25.0% $197,000 -3.9% $365,000 Huntington Beach 92647 45 -4.3% $198,000 -8.8% $375,000 Huntington Beach 92648 41 -38.8% $213,000 -37.4% $675,000 Huntington Beach 92649 48 -2.0% $252,000 -3.8% $975,000 Irvine 92714 96 11.6% $240,000 8.6% $402,000 Irvine 92715 37 -47.9% $267,000 -21.9% $453,000 Irvine 92720 32 -3.0% $221,000 -7.5% $418,000 La Habra 90631 43 -12.2% $143,000 -25.1% $290,000 La Palma 90623 24 118.2% $230,000 -3.4% $270,000 Laguna Beach 92651 25 -19.4% $440,000 18.0% $3,100,000 Laguna Hills 92653 60 -39.4% $169,000 -0.6% $725,500 Laguna Niguel 92677 103 -22.6% $302,000 14.0% $950,000 Lake Forest 92630 78 2.6% $179,000 -6.3% $330,000 Los Alamitos 90720 11 -59.3% $300,000 6.0% $425,000 Midway City 92655 7 n/a $144,000 n/a $175,000 Mission Viejo 92691 57 -28.8% $184,000 -0.5% $295,000 Mission Viejo 92692 80 -50.6% $223,000 -5.1% $750,000 Newport Beach 92660 40 -20.0% $386,000 -4.0% $2,300,000 Newport Beach 92661 5 n/a $324,000 n/a $500,000 Newport Beach 92663 26 -10.3% $560,000 78.3% $1,407,000 Orange 92665 11 -38.9% $184,000 1.1% $217,500 Orange 92666 6 0.0% $171,000 -11.9% $209,000 Orange 92667 67 15.5% $249,000 -11.4% $850,000 Orange 92668 11 -38.9% $158,000 -0.6% $170,000 Orange 92669 72 26.3% $173,000 -9.9% $395,000 Placentia 92670 26 -61.8% $221,000 0.5% $350,000 R. Santa Margarita 92688 73 -27.0% $165,000 -8.3% $308,000 S. Juan Capistrano 92675 32 -20.0% $163,000 -18.9% $825,000 San Clemente 92672 46 -20.7% $222,000 -2.2% $700,000 San Clemente 92673 45 n/a $255,000 n/a $875,000 Santa Ana 92701 50 11.1% $97,000 -29.7% $214,500 Santa Ana 92703 30 20.0% $128,000 6.7% $174,000 Santa Ana 92704 49 6.5% $144,000 3.6% $250,000 Santa Ana 92705 24 -4.0% $309,000 8.0% $952,000 Santa Ana 92706 21 -8.7% $153,000 -5.0% $218,000 Santa Ana 92707 41 -8.9% $129,000 -0.8% $346,500 Seal Beach 90740 14 40.0% $268,000 10.7% $520,000 Stanton 90680 13 -48.0% $120,000 -13.7% $172,000 Trabuco/Coto 92679 81 12.5% $318,000 23.3% $875,000 Tustin 92680 96 -2.0% $163,000 -35.6% $407,000 Westminster 92683 71 0.0% $164,000 -10.9% $277,000 Yorba Linda 92686 60 3.4% $239,000 10.1% $505,000 Yorba Linda 92687 35 2.9% $327,000 -9.7% $469,000 Others -- 15 -- -- -- -- Countywide 2,803 -11.5% $193,000 -5.9% $3,100,000
Entered fore- Community closure Aliso Viejo 19 Anaheim 14 Anaheim 9 Anaheim 29 Anaheim 14 Anaheim 9 Anaheim 15 Anaheim 13 Brea 7 Buena Park 14 Buena Park 7 Corona del Mar 0 Costa Mesa 14 Costa Mesa 11 Cypress 13 Dana Point 1 Dana Point 15 Fountain Valley 16 Fullerton 3 Fullerton 6 Fullerton 18 Fullerton 11 Garden Grove 7 Garden Grove 10 Garden Grove 14 Garden Grove 11 Garden Grove 2 Huntington Beach 26 Huntington Beach 9 Huntington Beach 9 Huntington Beach 10 Irvine 13 Irvine 4 Irvine 11 La Habra 16 La Palma 6 Laguna Beach 6 Laguna Hills 22 Laguna Niguel 35 Lake Forest 41 Los Alamitos 6 Midway City 2 Mission Viejo 35 Mission Viejo 16 Newport Beach 10 Newport Beach 0 Newport Beach 14 Orange 5 Orange 1 Orange 16 Orange 13 Orange 13 Placentia 16 R. Santa Margarita 14 S. Juan Capistrano 9 San Clemente 10 San Clemente 6 Santa Ana 24 Santa Ana 22 Santa Ana 37 Santa Ana 10 Santa Ana 13 Santa Ana 28 Seal Beach 3 Stanton 6 Trabuco/Coto 20 Tustin 29 Westminster 18 Yorba Linda 10 Yorba Linda 6 Others 0 Countywide 922
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Countywide Trends
Over the past five years, Orange County September home prices have declined 11.9% to well below the $200,000 mark. Monthly and five-year trend:
Sales
Sept. 1995: 2,803
Median Price
Sept. 1995: 193,000
Sept. Sales
1995: 2,803
Sept. Median Price
1995: 193,000
Source: DataQuick Information Services; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times
