Home Sales Plunge 14% in 1995; Prices Stabilizing
Ventura County’s residential real estate market took a pounding in 1995--with home sales 14% lower than in 1994--and suffered a rough end in a year that saw increasing demand for office, industrial and other commercial real estate.
In all, 8,534 homes were sold in the county last year, compared to 9,919 in 1994, according to a report released Thursday by TRW REDI Property Data.
But the report also shows that the average price of Ventura County homes that were sold in 1995 edged up 0.2%, a sign that the years-long slide in home values may finally have slowed, if not stopped.
Local real estate agents say prices have stabilized, a change they hope will bring more sales in 1996.
“I don’t think it will be an overwhelming sigh of relief and an opening of the floodgates, but I think you’ll see a loosening of the market,” said Debbie Rodgers Teasley with Coldwell Banker Town & Country in Moorpark.
Although many agents say they have recently fielded more calls from prospective buyers, 1995 ended in a slump. December’s sales figures were 11.6% lower than those from the same month in 1994, reversing a brief surge in sales during November.
For five consecutive months last spring, home sales were at least 20% lower than they had been during the same months the previous year.
Real estate agents blamed the weak market on several nagging problems, especially the decline in home prices that has gripped Ventura County, and most of California, since the beginning of the decade.
Nima Nattagh, a market research analyst with TRW REDI, said Ventura County home values fell 19% between July 1990 and July 1995. The most recent annual figures available--covering July 1994 to July 1995--show prices still falling 2%.
“The rate of decline has slowed down, but prices are still soft, and that figures very highly in the decision to buy,” Nattagh said.
Other problems plagued the market last year, analysts said. Heavy winter rains kept shoppers out of the market for months. Uncertainty about the fate of the Point Mugu Navy base beginning last spring may have scared away some potential buyers who feared for their jobs.
Despite those drawbacks, Ventura County in 1995 continued to lure buyers from elsewhere in Southern California, many drawn by the county’s quality of life.
Leo and Peggy Jones left the San Fernando Valley for a house on Lang Street in Ventura. After their West Hills home was damaged in the Northridge earthquake two years ago, they stayed with their son in Ventura, waiting for their Valley home to be repaired.
“That got to be too much of a hassle, and we also fell in love with Ventura County,” Peggy Jones said. The retired couple enjoyed being close to the ocean and downtown Ventura’s antique shops. “It’s less congested, better air, although you do have lousy water.”
For $179,000, they found a single-story, three-bedroom home with avocado and orange trees in the backyard and plenty of cupboard space. “I got more house than I’d get in the Valley, and you don’t have to worry about [finding] earthquake damage,” Jones said.
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Janet and Edward Lyons moved from the San Fernando Valley to Palmdale only a few years ago. But the hourlong commute to their jobs--hers in Northridge, his in West Hollywood--wore them down.
So last year, they moved to Simi Valley, drawn, they said, by the sense of community they found there. “I’d always wanted to live in Simi,” Janet Lyons said. “We should have moved here in the first place.”
They had to sell their $165,000 Palmdale house at a loss but figured it would be worth it to find a community they liked. “We took a big hit moneywise to come here, about $30,000, but I don’t care,” she said.
While home sales struggled throughout the year, other sections of the local real estate market showed increasing signs of strength. Analysts at the Grubb & Ellis commercial real estate brokerage said Thursday that the demand for office, industrial and retail space should continue to grow throughout 1996.
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Some types of commercial real estate are already becoming scarce, they said. The vacancy rate for industrial space, currently about 7%, will continue falling, said Eric Voulgaris, an industrial properties specialist with the company. The result: Some companies may have difficulty finding modern, well-maintained buildings.
“A broker can always beat the bushes a little more to find a tenant in a slow market, but I have yet to meet a broker who can create a building out of thin air,” Voulgaris said.
Vacancy rates for office space may also fall into the single digits during the coming year, and the demand for retail real estate, fueled by new retailers entering the county, will remain strong, analysts said.
“The real estate roller coaster is on the move again,” said Bruce Arden, Grubb & Ellis’ district manager. “And the next few years should be more fun than the last few.”
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Ventura County House Sales
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December 1994 December 1995 Number Average Number City/ZIP code of sales price of sales CAMARILLO 93010 64 $218,597 28 93012 28 $248,643 36 93066 3 $352,500 2 FILLMORE 93015 18 $156,139 8 MOORPARK 93021 68 $220,345 39 OAK PARK 91301 30 $255,833 15 OAK VIEW 93022 7 $140,714 1 OJAI 93023 11 $268,900 25 OXNARD 93030 61 $208,566 64 93033 33 $151,438 28 93035 33 $289,864 36 PORT HUENEME 93041 18 $137,250 13 SANTA PAULA 93060 24 $173,958 17 SIMI VALLEY 91307 5 $365,700 1 93063 60 $179,190 71 93065 85 $191,735 78 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 43 $243,407 38 91360 68 $229,105 51 91361 20 $385,500 19 91362 49 $361,031 59 VENTURA 93001 26 $269,654 29 93003 38 $194,629 42 93004 50 $227,839 40 COUNTY LINE / CANYON AREA 90265 NA NA 2 COUNTYWIDE 842 $227,577 744
Average City/ZIP code price CAMARILLO 93010 $237,611 93012 $274,206 93066 $367,500 FILLMORE 93015 $179,000 MOORPARK 93021 $254,658 OAK PARK 91301 $255,100 OAK VIEW 93022 $120,000 OJAI 93023 $241,960 OXNARD 93030 $196,675 93033 $150,296 93035 $232,278 PORT HUENEME 93041 $137,583 SANTA PAULA 93060 $138,156 SIMI VALLEY 91307 $380,000 93063 $191,979 93065 $209,038 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 $236,851 91360 $241,690 91361 $331,632 91362 $351,500 VENTURA 93001 $237,926 93003 $179,051 93004 $203,238 COUNTY LINE / CANYON AREA 90265 $194,500 COUNTYWIDE $228,678
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Source: TRW-REDI Property Data
