May Home Sales, Prices Increase From Year Ago

Sales of Ventura County detached homes climbed 34.5% during May from the same month a year ago, and median prices of homes also continued to rise, the California Assn. of Realtors reported.

The improvement in Ventura County’s real estate sales coincides with that in other major areas of the state, the association reported. Throughout California, sales of single-family homes climbed 32.8% during May over the previous year.

The report said that the median price of single-family homes sold in Ventura County in May was $212,200, up from $193,970 in May 1995.

Statewide, this is the eighth consecutive month showing an increase in year-to-year sales, according to state association President Rick Snyder.

“Home prices also continued on their recovery track during May, as the statewide median sales price increased for the third consecutive month from both the month before and a year ago--the first time that trend has occurred in five years,” Snyder said.

The association’s report says there was a 1.7% increase in the median sales price of Ventura County homes from April to May of this year. Sales activity in the county dropped 3.1%, however, from April to May.

The report does not indicate the number of houses sold.

Fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 8.07% during May, up from an average of 7.93% in April and 7.91% in May 1995, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 5.77% in May, up from 5.73% in April, but down from 6.1% in May 1995.

“Mortgage interest rates have increased during the last several months, but the effect of these recent increases has been neutralized by California’s rebounding economy--a rebound which is outpacing the nation’s economic growth rate,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, the association’s vice president of economics and public policy.