O.C. Housing Prices Climb as Sales Surge 35%

Orange County’s housing market continued to sizzle last month as sales surged 34.8% from the year before and the median home price climbed 7.3% to $207,000, a real estate data firm reported Wednesday.

A total of 3,953 homes were sold in the county, up from 2,933 in September 1996. The market for higher-priced new homes was especially strong, and sales overall showed only a 1% decline from August.

“Usually, September sales decline 10-15% from August,” said John Karevoll, a statistician with Axciom/DataQuick Information Services, which provided the report.

Indeed, Karevoll said, August and September were the two strongest months of the entire 1990s for Orange County home sales. Year-to-year sales have risen in 19 of the last 21 months, he said.

Experts compared the surge to the one that began two years ago in Northern California’s Silicon Valley, which like Orange County has benefited from a powerful entrepreneurial economy.

Prices rose most dramatically in the luxury home category, but also were higher for entry-level and medium-priced homes, Karevoll said.

Experts warned that Orange County’s sharply higher median price was exaggerated by the booming sales of higher-end houses compared with last year. The median is the number at which half the sales are for less and half for more.

“The mix may have shifted toward more expensive product,” especially for new homes, said Michael Carney, a Cal Poly Pomona professor who directs the Real Estate Research Council of Southern California.

“It doesn’t mean that new home prices are actually way up. It simply means we’re selling more expensive new homes.”

Brokers said low interest rates were a major factor pushing sales by making monthly mortgage payments more affordable for buyers.

“The rates are so attractive and have been so attractive for so long that there is an underlying concern that they could go up,” said Maureen Bauer, general manager of the Century 21 Professionals office in Irvine.

Just how sensitive the markets are to such fears was underlined Wednesday when Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress the economy has not slowed enough to eliminate the threat of renewed inflation.

Within minutes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 117 points, and the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond shot up from 6.23% late Tuesday to 6.37%.

Whatever the cause, brokers say properties in good condition priced realistically are selling at a clip reminiscent of the late 1980s.

“The buyers are happy. The sellers are happy. The agents are happy. We’re all happy. The only problem is keeping enough inventory,” Bauer said.

She said her agents have been amazed recently at multiple offers on homes in the $450,000 to $550,000 range. One home listed at $230,000 Friday attracted three offers by Monday, when it went into escrow at full price, Bauer said.

Helga Bonfils, a broker at Century 21 Superstars in Yorba Linda, said one of her agents sold five homes last week, and “career listings”--homes that haven’t sold for a year or more--are moving at close to the asking prices.

“We just can’t keep inventory,” Bonfils said.

The overall median home price of $207,000 for Orange County contrasted with $203,000 in August and $193,000 in September 1996, DataQuick said.

New home prices rose from a median $219,000 in September 1996 and $226,000 in August to $257,500 last month.

The median price of a resale single-family home was up by 5.8% from a year earlier at $218,000. Even condo prices, for years the worst performers in a sad California real estate market, rebounded strongly, rising 6.5% to a median $131,000.

Karevoll said that price per square foot, a statistic that helps screen out the effects of a changing mix of home sales, was $129.73 in Orange County last month. That was up from $124.36 a year earlier and was the highest since August 1993, when homes in the county sold for $130.12 a square foot.

* CHARTING THE MARKET: September’s home sales and prices, listed by Zip Code. D1

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Sales, Price Trends

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Monthly Median Sales Price Sept. 1996 2,933 $193,000 Oct. 2,849 $191,000 Nov. 2,819 $190,000 Dec. 3,209 $195,000 Jan. 1997 2,292 $185,000 Feb. 2,319 $186,000 March 3,065 $193,000 April 3,460 $192,000 May 3,578 $197,000 June 3,726 $201,000 July 3,871 $199,000 Aug. 3,989 $203,000 Sept. 3,953 $207,000

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September September Sales Median Prices 1993 2,844 $206,000 1994 3,166 $205,000 1995 2,803 $193,000 1996 2,933 $193,000 1997 3,953 $207,000

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Orange County Home Sales

September home sales increased 34.8% from the same period a year ago, while the median price rose 7.3% to $207,000. Both sales and median price figures are the highest for September in five years, but the 3,953 sales tally is slightly lower than August’s 3,989. Sales of new and resale homes and condominiums, by ZIP Code:

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Pct. Median Pct. Highest Community Zip Sales Chng. Price Chng. Price Aliso Viejo 92656 127 33.7% $198,000 20.4% $644,500 Anaheim 92801 32 77.8% $146,000 -4.7% $350,000 Anaheim 92802 23 43.8% $164,750 6.3% $195,000 Anaheim 92804 53 10.4% $152,000 1.0% $219,000 Anaheim 92805 44 41.9% $145,000 9.0% $207,500 Anaheim 92806 21 -8.7% $185,500 11.1% $235,000 Anaheim 92807 67 63.4% $225,000 12.5% $1,030,000 Anaheim 92808 59 -1.7% $157,000 -10.3% $565,000 Brea 92821 34 -5.6% $192,750 -4.6% $383,000 Buena Park 90620 39 21.9% $165,000 3.0% $448,000 Buena Park 90621 22 46.7% $151,000 -1.9% $725,000 Corona del Mar 92625 24 60.0% $600,000 34.8% $1,110,000 Costa Mesa 92626 45 40.6% $218,000 8.6% $450,000 Costa Mesa 92627 48 54.8% $195,000 20.9% $655,000 Cypress 90630 62 10.7% $219,000 2.1% $425,000 Dana Point 92624 13 62.5% $237,000 6.3% $699,000 Dana Point 92629 70 89.2% $289,500 29.5% $2,113,000 Foothill Ranch 92610 38 -42.4% $214,250 11.9% $330,000 Fountain Valley 92708 61 17.3% $223,000 3.2% $373,500 Fullerton 92831 26 30.0% $212,000 46.2% $557,000 Fullerton 92832 17 88.9% $160,000 10.3% $375,000 Fullerton 92833 47 42.4% $162,000 -1.8% $430,000 Fullerton 92835 21 -19.2% $215,000 -1.9% $435,000 Garden Grove 92840 40 48.1% $155,000 -3.1% $349,500 Garden Grove 92841 18 -14.3% $170,000 6.3% $235,000 Garden Grove 92843 40 53.8% $140,000 -0.4% $175,000 Garden Grove 92844 20 25.0% $143,500 7.9% $212,000 Garden Grove 92845 21 75.0% $190,000 6.4% $260,000 Huntington Beach 92646 84 100.0% $242,000 21.6% $425,000 Huntington Beach 92647 54 38.5% $221,000 5.7% $460,000 Huntington Beach 92648 71 57.8% $273,000 9.3% $714,000 Huntington Beach 92649 49 16.7% $225,000 2.7% $1,210,000 Irvine 92604 40 25.0% $210,500 9.1% $477,500 Irvine 92606 36 414.3% $233,000 8.4% $854,000 Irvine 92612 45 15.4% $235,000 -4.6% $1,220,000 Irvine 92614 47 67.9% $204,500 -14.9% $620,000 Irvine 92620 72 132.3% $278,500 4.9% $505,000 La Habra 90631 52 26.8% $157,250 12.3% $275,000 La Palma 90623 6 -53.8% $234,000 8.8% $360,500 Laguna Beach 92651 51 64.5% $475,500 44.6% $2,333,000 Laguna Hills 92653 110 34.1% $165,000 26.0% $1,000,000 Laguna Niguel 92677 180 26.8% $265,000 13.4% $1,270,000 Lake Forest 92630 97 42.6% $192,500 -3.8% $382,000 Los Alamitos 90720 12 -7.7% $295,500 41.4% $580,000 Mission Viejo 92691 95 69.6% $207,500 13.4% $380,000 Mission Viejo 92692 185 55.5% $240,000 2.3% $844,000 Newport Beach 92657 18 100.0% $503,364 55.4% $1,595,000 Newport Beach 92660 78 110.8% $499,000 14.6% $3,970,000 Newport Beach 92661 5 -16.7% $525,000 -4.1% $545,000 Newport Beach 92663 38 46.2% $367,500 -9.7% $2,600,000 Orange 92865 22 10.0% $196,000 9.5% $250,000 Orange 92866 19 111.1% $187,000 15.4% $355,000 Orange 92867 42 110.0% $196,500 -23.1% $900,000 Orange 92868 23 27.8% $156,000 18.9% $200,000 Orange 92869 70 37.3% $230,000 15.0% $680,000 Placentia 92870 69 137.9% $183,500 -17.3% $282,000 R. Santa Margarita 92688 170 226.9% $185,000 19.4% $418,500 S. Juan Capistrano 92675 104 108.0% $345,000 113.3% $2,525,000 San Clemente 92672 71 69.0% $216,750 3.2% $920,000 San Clemente 92673 38 2.7% $255,750 -3.5% $954,500 Santa Ana 92701 29 0.0% $102,609 -26.7% $167,000 Santa Ana 92703 39 44.4% $119,000 16.1% $168,500 Santa Ana 92704 54 35.0% $143,000 15.8% $217,000 Santa Ana* 92705 46 21.1% $291,750 13.6% $1,575,000 Santa Ana 92706 30 11.1% $165,000 0.3% $365,000 Santa Ana 92707 51 15.9% $127,500 5.6% $332,500 Seal Beach 90740 19 26.7% $305,000 13.0% $605,000 Stanton 90680 16 -5.9% $116,000 3.1% $165,000 Trabuco/Coto 92679 125 43.7% $299,500 11.3% $720,000 Tustin 92780 64 77.8% $169,750 35.8% $510,000 Tustin 92782 33 94.1% $165,000 -6.0% $740,000 Villa Park 92861 13 8.3% $430,000 -15.7% $625,000 Westminster 92683 85 51.8% $175,000 2.9% $323,000 Yorba Linda 92886 65 25.0% $244,000 1.7% $447,000 Yorba Linda 92887 34 -10.5% $318,000 -0.6% $597,000 Others -- 65 -- -- -- -- Countywide 3,953 34.8% $207,000 7.3% $3,970,000 714

Entered Fore- Community closure Aliso Viejo 22 Anaheim 11 Anaheim 11 Anaheim 28 Anaheim 18 Anaheim 6 Anaheim 9 Anaheim 5 Brea 5 Buena Park 13 Buena Park 11 Corona del Mar 2 Costa Mesa 9 Costa Mesa 11 Cypress 15 Dana Point 0 Dana Point 5 Foothill Ranch 0 Fountain Valley 14 Fullerton 10 Fullerton 9 Fullerton 19 Fullerton 2 Garden Grove 15 Garden Grove 10 Garden Grove 11 Garden Grove 3 Garden Grove 6 Huntington Beach 9 Huntington Beach 6 Huntington Beach 7 Huntington Beach 9 Irvine 3 Irvine 2 Irvine 3 Irvine 6 Irvine 2 La Habra 27 La Palma 5 Laguna Beach 5 Laguna Hills 11 Laguna Niguel 18 Lake Forest 22 Los Alamitos 2 Mission Viejo 24 Mission Viejo 16 Newport Beach 0 Newport Beach 2 Newport Beach 0 Newport Beach 5 Orange 5 Orange 3 Orange 7 Orange 5 Orange 7 Placentia 10 R. Santa Margarita 19 S. Juan Capistrano 9 San Clemente 9 San Clemente 1 Santa Ana 26 Santa Ana 10 Santa Ana 24 Santa Ana* 10 Santa Ana 15 Santa Ana 26 Seal Beach 2 Stanton 3 Trabuco/Coto 9 Tustin 6 Tustin 6 Villa Park 0 Westminster 16 Yorba Linda 13 Yorba Linda 6 Others 3 Countywide

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*Includes Lemon/Cowan Heights

Source: Axciom/DataQuick Information Systems; Researched by Janice L. Jones/Los Angeles Times