County Home Sales Rise Again in June as Comeback Builds
Surprising housing analysts and brokers alike, the county’s residential real estate market continued its march upward last month, according to a report released Monday.
Last month, 1,069 homes were sold across the county, an increase of 15.7% from June 1996, when 924 homes were sold. The housing figures, compiled by Acxiom/DataQuick, include new and resale homes as well as condominiums.
The median home price grew to $210,000, compared with $198,000 in June last year.
“We thought things would level off, but we were surprised to see more growth,” said Acxiom/DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. “The good news is that this doesn’t seem to be a flash in the pan. The underlying fundamentals pushing this growth are still very solid.”
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The latest housing report confirms that the county’s residential market, like most of Southern California, is on a rebound from the recession of the early 1990s.
“It’s been really busy and the market’s been good,” said Simi Valley Realtor Diane Minor. “If it keeps going this way I’d say we’ll have recovered from the recession.”
The eastern part of the county continued to lead the housing market in June, with some communities showing an increase of more than 70% in the number of properties sold compared with the previous year.
In Thousand Oaks, 280 homes were sold last month, compared with 208 in June 1996. In the 91320 ZIP code, sales rose 76.8%, with the median price of homes jumping more than 10% to $241,000.
In Simi Valley, sales rose 13.4% in June with 193 residences sold compared with 183 the previous June.
Moorpark experienced the greatest percentage of growth, posting a 76.9% increase in sales last month as compared with June 1996.
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Sales were not as dramatic in the western part of the county, with many communities posting only modest gains.
Camarillo continued its steady growth in June, increasing sales by 14.3% with the median home price inching up to $211,000.
Ventura experienced more growth in some ZIP codes. The 93004 area showed an increase of more than 46%, with home prices rising to a median of $203,000.
Area real estate agents said they are optimistic that the improved economy, coupled with interest rates remaining at less than 8%, will help the current trend hold.
“Everything looks good for at least the next couple of years, so we’re very pleased,” said Susan Herrick, a real estate broker in Ventura. “Our only problem is that we haven’t got the inventory we need to keep up.”
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Ventura County House Sales
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June, 1996 June, 1997 Number Average Number Average City/ZIP code of sales price of sales price CAMARILLO 93010 56 $208,000 64 $211,000 93012 57 $203,000 59 $195,000 FILLMORE 93015 11 $138,000 10 $162,000 MOORPARK 93021 39 $236,000 69 $240,000 OAK PARK 91301 27 $272,000 36 $257,000 OAK VIEW 93022 9 $206,000 10 $275,000 OJAI 93023 24 $235,000 24 $220,000 OXNARD 93030 63 $182,000 80 $176,000 93033 39 $142,000 31 $123,000 93035 45 $190,000 34 $198,000 PORT HUENEME 93041 27 $122,000 27 $116,000 SANTA PAULA 93060 19 $151,000 19 $137,000 SIMI VALLEY 93063 71 $173,000 66 $178,000 93065 112 $200,000 127 $190,000 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 56 $218,000 99 $241,000 91360 58 $217,000 67 $229,000 91361 27 $289,000 25 $245,000 91362 67 $282,000 89 $310,000 VENTURA 93001 33 $211,000 33 $166,000 93003 54 $170,000 56 $191,000 93004 30 $190,000 44 $203,000 COUNTYWIDE *924 $198,000 1,069 $210,000
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* The ZIP codes for 91 houses bought in Ventura County were unavailable.
Source: Acxiom / DataQuick Information Systems
