Home Sales Decline as Prices Inch Up
Southland home sales declined slightly during the third quarter, as prices finally started to inch their way up a bit, according to a real estate information service.
A total of 56,392 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties during the July-to-September period.
That was down 7.6% from 61,032 for the previous quarter and up 10.1% from 51,215 for last year’s third quarter, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla.
A decline from the second to the third quarter is normal for the season. The just-ended quarter was the strongest third quarter since 1990, when 64,562 homes were sold.
If current trends continue, Southland home sales will top 220,000 this year, up 17% from 188,100 last year and the most since 1990 when 254,600 homes were sold in the region.
The median price paid for a home last quarter was $162,000, the same as the previous quarter and up 0.6% from last year’s third quarter.
Until this year there had been four straight years of price declines.
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(Home Sales) *--*
All Homes No. Sold No. Sold Pct Med($K) Med($K) Pct 3Q95 3Q96 Chng 3Q95 3Q96 Chng Los Angeles 21,151 22,539 6.6% $162 $163 0.6% Orange County 8,505 9,306 9.4% $193 $194 0.5% San Diego 7,830 8,918 13.9% $167 $169 1.2% Riverside 5,606 6,616 18.0% $123 $126 2.4% San Bernardino 5,543 6,195 11.8% $120 $119 -0.8% Ventura 2,580 2,818 9.2% $189 $193 2.1% So. California 51,215 56,392 10.1% $161 $162 0.6%
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