Record Quarter for Million-Dollar Homes

Fueled by economic growth and a continued bull run on Wall Street, sales of million-dollar homes in California reached a new high in the third quarter of this year, far surpassing the last surge in the late 1980s, according to a real estate data service. A total of 1,555 homes costing $1 million or more sold during the July-September period, up 5.1% from the previous quarter and 41.2% from the third quarter of 1997, according to Acxiom Corp.’s DataQuick Products Division. The sales were well ahead of the peak reached in 1989, when 1,246 $1-million-plus homes sold in the third quarter. Mike Ela, who heads DataQuick, attributes the increase to economic growth and price appreciation. The quarter’s most expensive sale was a seven-bathroom, five-bedroom, 10,060-square-foot home on 2.3 acres in Bel-Air, which sold for $10 million. Los Angeles led the state in million-dollar home sales with 131 in the third quarter (mainly in Brentwood and Bel-Air). Beverly Hills was second with 69. About 20% of buyers purchasing million-dollar homes paid cash.