'95: The Ups and Downs

L.A. Times Archives

Jan. 28, 1996 12 AM PT

On Wall Street, the bulls stampeded in 1995.

On your street, however, the bears most likely continued their mauling of the Southland housing market.

While 159,985 homes sold in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties in 1995, that number was down 7.4% from sales the year before.

And in 211 communities surveyed, home prices fell in 161 areas and rose in just 50, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla.

Before we get to the good news or bad news for your neck of the woods, let’s look at some interesting facts:

* Sixty percent of 1995 home buyers were first-time homeowners, the highest percentage of any metropolitan area in the United States, according to Chicago Title’s new report “Who’s Buying Homes in America.”

* All those first-timers pushed the median price down 4.8% last year to $159,000, from $167,000 in 1994, according to DataQuick CEO Donald Cohn. “There was very little activity in the move-up market,” he said.

* Among all buyers, 80% bought single-family houses, 18% bought condos and 2% bought multifamily houses.

* 88.9% bought existing homes, 11.1% bought newly built homes.

* The average down payment was 17.2% of the purchase price.

For a look at prices and sales in your community, please turn to K3.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BIGGEST HOME PRICE GAINS

Manhattan Beach: 10.3%

Murrieta: 7.5

Calabasas: 7.4

Moorpark: 6.9

Altadena: 6.9

Chino: 6.5