Home Sales Jump 22% in Ventura County

A seller’s market and El Nino-fueled storms haven’t dampened home-buyers’ enthusiasm, according to figures released Friday. Sales in Ventura County leaped more than 22% in March and prices rose 7% over the same time last year.

A total of 1,083 homes were bought last month throughout the county, compared to 883 in March 1997, according to a report compiled by the La Jolla-based research firm Acxiom/DataQuick.

The median price for a home went from $197,000 to $211,000.

“People are gaining confidence in the economy and they are more secure in their jobs, so they are willing to go out and make long-term commitments,” said Bob Majorino, owner of Prudential California Realty in Thousand Oaks.

One Thousand Oaks area showed the largest increase in home sales, 191%, and the second biggest jump in median price, from $258,000 to $345,000. On the city’s south side, 35 homes were snapped up last month versus 12 last year.

“The stock market has gotten a little bit doubtful and money has a tendency to go back and forth between the stock and real estate market,” Majorino said. “Real estate has regained in favor as an investment as well as for housing purposes.”

Other factors that bolstered sales were continued job growth, interest rates as low as 7%, varying types of home loans and a heavy demand for single-family homes, real estate agents said.

The second-best showing was in Santa Paula, where 24 homes were purchased in March versus 11 a year ago, making for a sales jump of 118%. “We are a little bit lower in price than, say, Ventura,” said Ofelia Delatorre, who co-owns Glenn City Real Estate in Santa Paula. The median home price there dropped from $162,000 to $151,000.

Delatorre and other agents agreed that a shortage of homes is on the horizon because not enough new homes are being built.

“There will always be properties to sell but there may not be enough of a selection,” said Linda Freeny, owner of California Oaks Realtors in Ventura.

In Ventura, home sales on or near Ventura Avenue and in the downtown area accounted for the third largest jump, nearly 70%. Despite a median price increase of $20,000, to $180,000, 39 homes were sold in that area last month versus 23 at the same time last year.

“Renters are becoming homeowners,” Freeny said. “Interest rates are low and there are a lot of loan programs.”

Freeny and other agents said it is a seller’s market, so buyers are being forced to be prepared when they go shopping and to be ready to bid and buy.

Unlike a couple of years ago, when a dozen homes might be available in a price range, today’s buyer probably has only three or four options, agents said.

Homes being resold accounted for the majority of the sales, more than 75% in most communities, followed by townhomes and then new homes, agents said.

Theresa Berenger, owner of Realty Executives in Simi Valley and past president of the Simi Valley-Moorpark Assn. of Realtors, said many people in the last quarter have decided to move into new, bigger homes in housing developments, which helped spur resales.

Berenger predicted a continuing rise in housing costs and decrease in selection.

“Buyers are becoming educated to the facts--they can no longer low-ball a price, because there are multiple offers on almost every property,” Berenger said.

In Moorpark, there was a 53% increase in home sales, from 45 to 69, and a 10% decrease in the median price, from $245,000 to $219,000. In nearby Simi Valley, there was a 41% increase in home sales, from 89 to 126, and a 4% increase in median price, from $192,000 to $200,000.

As to other predictions, townhome sales will climb in the next few months because the price of single-family homes was expected to increase, agents said.