O.C. Home Sales Up for a Change : Real estate: The first year-to-year increase in 13 months is slight but offers some hope that the slump is over at last.

Home sales in Orange County inched up slightly in November, marking the first year-to-year increase in 13 months and providing a small measure of hope that the real estate market is beginning to recover.

Prices paid for new and used houses, however, fell 2.5% last month to $195,000 from a year earlier median price of $200,000, according to Dataquick Information Services in La Jolla.

Sales rose 0.9% in November from 2,646 units to 2,669 units, and should continue to go up steadily over the next few months, said John Karevoll, Dataquick financial editor.

Housing prices, which probably will “drag along the bottom” for a few more months, should help boost sales, he said.

“Once people realize that prices have bottomed out, those who have been waiting to buy will get into houses,” Karevoll said. “It’s hard to buy if you think the price will go lower in six months.”

Some real estate experts are more cautious, and one reporting agency, TRW REDI Property Data in Anaheim, reported a 1.5% drop in homes that were sold last month.

The market really isn’t improving much, said TRW REDI real estate analyst Nima Nattagh, because last year’s monthly results, starting in October 1994, were extremely low. He said that sales overall are down 20% since January, but that the rate of decline has slowed considerably. Nattagh said he expects that sales will remain flat for the near term.

Sales for November took a typical seasonal dip from October, when 2,762 homes were sold, according to Dataquick.

Prices rose from October’s $189,000 median price, but Karevoll cautioned that the October price was “unnaturally” low because of a big demand for lower-priced, entry-level housing.

“What needs to happen is a migration of buyers from one category to next,” he said. “Because people have been so short of money, those who would buy are sitting tight. New home sales and move-up sales just haven’t been happening.”

One factor that should help, he said, is a steady interest rate for borrowers. The 30-year, fixed-rate loan, seen as a benchmark for the industry, has been holding close to last month’s figure, 7.3%.

“The interest rate is as low as it needs to go, but there’s talk it could go lower,” said Chandler Barton, president and chief executive Coldwell Banker Corp. in Mission Viejo.

He and other industry executives say that business has been improving recently.

The number of deals entering Coldwell’s pipeline increased 20% last month, making November the company’s third strongest month this year, behind August and March, Barton said.

“This leaves us in a strong position entering 1996 because closings will take place in early January,” Barton said. “That compares to a year ago when pipelines were so empty that so many companies had a tough first half.” Dataquick’s statistics are based on real estate closings.

Bill Plattos, general manager of First Team Real Estate in Costa Mesa, said business at his company’s 10 offices has been improving since midyear.

“What we’re doing is gearing up for more activity,” he said. “We’ve been so busy, our people worked right through the Thanksgiving weekend.”

Orange County’s bankruptcy, which kept buyers away for much of the first half of the year, hasn’t had a big impact since July, he said.

“We feel very good about what’s happening,” Plattos said. “We see a lot of things, like positive stories in the media, confirming what we believe.”

In addition, he said, lenders faced with foreclosing on properties have been more willing to reduce the amounts due on unpaid mortgages that exceed sales prices, which has helped properties move quicker and allowed lenders to reduce losses by avoiding costly foreclosures.

Related industries also sense the uptick in business.

First American Title Insurance Co. wrote slightly fewer title policies for new Orange County homes last month than in the previous month, but monthly revenue for its resale division rose 20%.

“What I see is that homeowners are realizing that their homes are not increasing at 10% to 15% a year, and they’re settling on 5% increases,” said George Cotter, vice president of First American’s sales and marketing in Orange County.

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Orange County Home Sales

Home sales edged up 0.9% last month compared with a year ago, suggesting a long-awaited recovery in the real estate market. However, the median sales price dropped 2.5% to $195,000 from the year-earlier price of $200,000. November sales of new and existing homes, by ZIP Code:

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Percent Median Percent Highest Community ZIP Sales change price change price Aliso Viejo 92656 127 -4.5% $175,000 -8.9% $261,000 Anaheim 92801 23 0.0% $135,000 -6.3% $192,500 Anaheim 92802 10 -58.3% $144,000 -9.4% $195,000 Anaheim 92804 38 -7.3% $149,000 -1.3% $250,000 Anaheim 92805 53 47.2% $163,000 7.9% $197,000 Anaheim 92806 28 21.7% $181,000 -0.5% $236,000 Anaheim 92807 41 28.1% $197,000 -3.4% $431,000 Anaheim 92808 43 13.2% $199,000 -17.4% $730,000 Brea 92621 29 38.1% $185,000 -1.6% $330,000 Buena Park 90620 36 -2.7% $163,000 -3.6% $189,000 Buena Park 90621 13 160.0% $224,000 57.7% $440,000 Corona del Mar 92625 18 5.9% $470,000 -14.5% $890,000 Costa Mesa 92626 26 23.8% $211,000 6.0% $336,000 Costa Mesa 92627 26 -38.1% $180,000 -8.6% $335,000 Cypress 90630 40 -9.1% $187,000 -10.5% $273,000 Dana Point 92624 7 -36.4% $208,000 -21.5% $703,500 Dana Point 92629 46 21.1% $254,000 7.2% $665,000 Fountain Valley 92708 50 2.0% $224,000 3.2% $417,500 Fullerton 92631 24 118.2% $187,000 -10.1% $301,500 Fullerton 92632 7 40.0% $158,000 -7.1% $485,000 Fullerton 92633 42 27.3% $150,000 -16.7% $285,000 Fullerton 92635 20 -9.1% $199,000 -20.7% $555,000 Garden Grove 92640 34 -10.5% $142,000 -6.6% $195,000 Garden Grove 92641 18 -18.2% $148,000 -9.2% $195,000 Garden Grove 92643 22 -4.3% $137,000 -12.2% $256,000 Garden Grove 92644 22 69.2% $141,000 16.5% $282,500 Garden Grove 92645 21 31.3% $172,000 -5.0% $220,000 Huntington Beach 92646 47 14.6% $233,000 -1.3% $665,000 Huntington Beach 92647 39 18.2% $200,000 -4.8% $288,000 Huntington Beach 92648 67 63.4% $274,000 -13.3% $687,000 Huntington Beach 92649 19 -44.1% $320,000 14.3% $980,000 Irvine 92714 94 0.0% $235,000 15.2% $490,000 Irvine 92715 27 -15.6% $236,000 -21.9% $800,000 Irvine 92720 27 -20.6% $260,000 23.2% $359,000 La Habra 90631 36 -36.8% $160,000 -4.2% $305,000 La Palma 90623 10 -9.1% $231,000 -1.7% $420,000 Laguna Beach 92651 11 -56.0% $350,000 -2.0% $625,000 Laguna Hills 92653 72 14.3% $205,000 26.5% $837,500 Laguna Niguel 92677 121 -1.6% $300,000 4.2% $2,412,500 Lake Forest 92630 69 6.2% $179,000 5.3% $370,000 Los Alamitos 90720 12 -42.9% $263,000 0.8% $365,000 Midway City 92655 4 n/a $103,000 n/a $141,500 Mission Viejo 92691 57 -16.2% $196,000 10.1% $345,000 Mission Viejo 92692 107 -16.4% $214,000 -2.7% $396,000 Newport Beach 92660 26 -50.0% $431,000 -1.4% $2,050,000 Newport Beach 92661 6 0.0% $752,000 57.0% $1,457,500 Newport Beach 92663 16 -56.8% $308,000 -25.1% $1,200,000 Orange 92665 11 0.0% $189,000 11.8% $227,000 Orange 92666 5 0.0% $203,000 9.7% $205,500 Orange* 92667 53 26.2% $285,000 22.3% $1,440,000 Orange 92668 9 -25.0% $140,000 -6.7% $170,000 Orange 92669 51 4.1% $239,000 14.9% $630,000 Placentia 92670 28 -60.6% $200,000 -12.3% $257,000 R. Santa Margarita 92688 99 32.0% $176,000 6.7% $312,500 S. Juan Capistrano 92675 33 10.0% $265,000 9.5% $1,450,000 San Clemente 92672 53 32.5% $221,000 16.3% $545,000 San Clemente 92673 23 n/a $267,000 n/a $775,000 Santa Ana 92701 21 -36.4% $111,000 -11.9% $155,000 Santa Ana 92703 29 7.4% $131,000 7.4% $180,000 Santa Ana 92704 49 32.4% $136,000 0.0% $178,000 Santa Ana** 92705 37 94.7% $251,000 -21.3% $975,000 Santa Ana 92706 35 59.1% $158,000 -0.6% $287,000 Santa Ana 92707 39 -4.9% $135,000 -5.6% $232,500 Seal Beach 90740 15 25.0% $291,000 -5.5% $337,500 Stanton 90680 20 81.8% $129,000 -0.8% $153,500 Trabuco/Coto 92679 85 -5.6% $255,000 -12.1% $1,000,000 Tustin 92680 91 2.2% $184,000 -4.2% $446,500 Westminster 92683 62 -13.9% $170,000 -10.1% $279,000 Yorba Linda 92686 50 35.1% $210,000 3.4% $380,000 Yorba Linda 92687 38 18.8% $261,000 -6.1% $645,000 Others Q 2 Q Q Q Q Countywide 2,669 0.9% $195,000 -2.5% $2,412,500

Entered fore- Community closure Aliso Viejo 36 Anaheim 16 Anaheim 6 Anaheim 33 Anaheim 24 Anaheim 7 Anaheim 49 Anaheim 11 Brea 12 Buena Park 15 Buena Park 9 Corona del Mar 5 Costa Mesa 9 Costa Mesa 16 Cypress 13 Dana Point 1 Dana Point 13 Fountain Valley 16 Fullerton 8 Fullerton 6 Fullerton 23 Fullerton 5 Garden Grove 21 Garden Grove 9 Garden Grove 18 Garden Grove 15 Garden Grove 5 Huntington Beach 24 Huntington Beach 9 Huntington Beach 7 Huntington Beach 16 Irvine 24 Irvine 4 Irvine 5 La Habra 15 La Palma 2 Laguna Beach 15 Laguna Hills 24 Laguna Niguel 26 Lake Forest 56 Los Alamitos 8 Midway City 2 Mission Viejo 24 Mission Viejo 19 Newport Beach 11 Newport Beach 0 Newport Beach 7 Orange 7 Orange 1 Orange* 15 Orange 2 Orange 19 Placentia 9 R. Santa Margarita 47 S. Juan Capistrano 19 San Clemente 18 San Clemente 5 Santa Ana 23 Santa Ana 36 Santa Ana 49 Santa Ana** 13 Santa Ana 19 Santa Ana 24 Seal Beach 1 Stanton 8 Trabuco/Coto 23 Tustin 23 Westminster 21 Yorba Linda 16 Yorba Linda 9 Others 42 Countywide 1,148

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*Includes Villa Park

** Includes Lemon / Cowan Heights

Sales, Price Trends

November’s home sales total is the highest for the month since 1993. The median sales price increased about 3% from October but still remained below $200,000--a level it has not reached this year.

Sales

Nov. 1995: 2,699

Median Price

Nov. 1995: $195,000

Oct. Sales

1995: 2,699

Oct. Median Price

1995: $195,000

Source: Dataquick Information Systems / Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times