O.C. Home Sales Up 9.5%; Prices Slide
Orange County home sales picked up 9.5% in January, but sinking condominium values brought the overall selling price down to $185,000, its lowest point since 1988. Condominium prices slid almost 9% to $114,000 from $125,000 the same month last year, while the price for existing homes edged up 2% to $197,000, according to a report released Thursday by Acxiom/DataQuick, a real estate data firm.
“There is clearly some dumping [of condos] going on out there,” said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. “Prices are unnaturally low right now.”
Real estate agents and analysts say that a lot of owners who have outgrown a condominium or townhome are selling their property, regardless of the price, so they can move up to a much larger detached home while prices are still low.
“They’re going ahead and selling their properties and getting a very good value on the purchase side,” said Diane Hextell, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Irvine.
Overall, the median price is at its lowest point since July 1988 when the housing market was into its frenzied ascent. The $185,000 price is slightly below the $186,000 average in January 1996, but is nearly 5% below the $195,000 price in December.
But sales have increased year-to-year for 13 consecutive months. A total of 2,292 homes were sold last month, up from 2,093 sold at the same time last year. Sales of condominiums climbed 23.1% to 469 last month from 381 in January 1996, and sales of existing homes increased 8.7% to 1,539 from 1,416.
Some of the biggest sales increases were recorded in the high end of the market. Real estate agents say well-maintained homes in good locations are selling within a matter of weeks. That has left agent Barbra Chambers with an interesting dilemma. “I’m almost out of listings,” said Chambers, who is with Prudential Jon Douglas Co. in Newport Beach.
Only sales of new homes declined during the month. A total of 284 new structures sold, down 4.1% from 296 a year ago. But it was an even sharper drop from the flurry of 773 sales in December. Still, median values swelled 3.6% to $235,750 from $227,500 in January 1996.
Home builders say this uptick in new home prices stems from the opening of several pricey new home communities opening along the coast and in South Orange County, rather than an increase in new home prices overall.
But the best deals can be found in the condo market that includes a large number of foreclosure properties as well as owners who are eager to sell. Real estate agents say many sellers who bought at the peak of the market a few years ago are realizing that they may never recoup their original investment.
Agent Diane Hextell pointed out, for example, that one of her clients will receive much less than the $227,000 purchase price in 1990 for a two-bedroom townhome in Irvine’s University Center. The condo, listed for $175,900, has received only one offer in more than two months and likely will sell for around $170,000, Hextell said.
“He may even have to bring money to the closing,” Hextell said. “After paying off the $160,000 he owes he probably won’t have enough left to pay closing costs and brokerage fees.”
Others are simply walking away from these properties, although not as frequently as last year. Overall, the number of properties going into default dropped 31% in January to 989 from 1,440 the same time last year.
“We’re back on an even keel now,” said Karevoll.
Some of the ZIP codes posting the biggest improvements in sales and price were:
* Trabuco Canyon/Coto de Caza 92679, where sales picked up 29.5% and the median price climbed 13.4%.
* Yorba Linda 92886, which recorded a 75% increase in sales, and a 10% increase in median price.
* Garden Grove 92843, where sales jumped 50% and prices climbed 8.8%.
* Laguna Beach 92651, which had a 126.7% increase from last year, with a 12.4% uptick in median price.
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Split Market
Home sales increased in 1996, but median prices declined slightly. Housing market changes, 1995 to 1996:
Sales: +18.7%
Prices: -0.5
Source: Acxiom / DataQuick
