‘98 Ends Hot in Housing, Job Markets

Ventura County’s economy will end the year on a high note after reports Friday that showed continued buyer frenzy in the real estate market and a low 5.8% unemployment rate during November.

Last month, 1,092 homes were sold in the county--up nearly 16% from November 1997, according to a report by Acxiom/DataQuick Information systems.

Also, the county’s median home price jumped more than 11%--to $230,000--from November of last year.

The figures include new and resale homes as well as condominiums.

“All the analysts I’ve spoken with agree that this is kind of like nirvana. . . . The prices are good, the market is there, people are buying and people are selling,” said John Karevoll, an analyst at Acxiom/DataQuick.

“Basically, it’s a good market for everyone involved.”

The greatest activity in home sales occurred in west county communities such as Ventura, Oxnard and Port Hueneme, according to the report.

In Ventura’s 93003 ZIP Code, home sales increased by more than 77% after 80 homes were sold last month. The median price in that same area also increased by more than 25% to $199,000.

In Oxnard’s 93030 ZIP Code, 42 homes were sold in November, up more than 42% over the same period last year. The median price for homes sold also increased from $171,000 to $205,000, the report said.

East county communities also recorded brisk sales during November.

In Thousand Oaks’ 91320 ZIP Code, sales increased by 60% with the median price climbing from $258,000 to $299,000.

In the city’s upscale 91361 ZIP Code, the report showed sales had inched up a modest 12.5%, but the median home price had skyrocketed 32% to $425,000.

Karevoll expects the market, which has rallied for most of the year, to continue posting gains in 1999, but cautioned that some unseen factor could come into play and change the situation.

“No one knows what will happen, but markets always change,” he said. “But it will have to be an event with a capital E.”

Meanwhile, the county’s unemployment rate dropped a percentage point to 5.8% from November 1997, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department. Since November of last year, the county’s wage and salary work force, which numbers about 270,500, has increased by 3.8% with the addition of about 9,500 nonfarm jobs.

Although the number of employed residents dropped by about 700 from October, the numbers are still strong, said Dee Johnson, a labor analyst with the Employment Development Department.

The drop in employment, she said, was attributed to seasonal layoffs in the farming industry, which cut its payroll by about 3,400.

That, however, was offset by expansion in other nonfarm industries.

“Things are pretty solid and are holding steady,” Johnson said. “Even though there was relatively little change in the overall numbers, there were some positive gains in sectors such as construction, insurance and, naturally, retail sales because of the holidays.”

Despite a nationwide slowing of job growth prompted in large part by the economic crises in Asia and South America, most of the county’s job growth occurred in the retail trade, construction, government agencies and services.

The greatest growth in employment occurred in the retail trade sector, which added 1,300 jobs to manage the annual holiday buying spree.

This broad diversification in the county’s labor market, economists believe, will keep Ventura County buoyant if a nationwide economic slowing occurs.

“There’s significant strength in the Ventura County employment picture,” said Mark Schniepp of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project. “There is a lot of growth where it should be happening and that’s very good for the county. It leaves it well-positioned for the future.”

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Ventura County Jobless Rate

Nov. 1998: 5.8%

Source: California Employment Development Department

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Ventura County House Sales

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November, 1997 November, 1998 Number Median Number City/ZIP code of sales price of sales CAMARILLO 93010 60 $201,000 72 93012 50 $210,000 44 FILLMORE 93015 7 $148,000 12 MOORPARK 93021 69 $210,000 45 OAK PARK 91301 44 $295,000 20 OAK VIEW 93022 5 $210,000 12 OJAI 93023 28 $192,000 26 OXNARD 93030 61 $171,000 87 93033 31 $130,000 42 93035 48 $191,000 53 PORT HUENEME 93041 20 $130,000 36 SANTA PAULA 93060 16 $133,000 19 SIMI VALLEY 93063 67 $175,000 68 93065 93 $203,000 159 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 75 $258,000 120 91360 66 $216,000 58 91361 16 $322,000 18 91362 72 $284,000 49 VENTURA 93001 35 $209,000 38 93003 45 $159,000 80 93004 34 $198,000 34 COUNTY LINE / CANYON AREA 90265 -- -- 2 COUNTYWIDE 942 $207,000 1,092

Median City/ZIP code price CAMARILLO 93010 $210,000 93012 $213,000 FILLMORE 93015 $160,000 MOORPARK 93021 $240,000 OAK PARK 91301 $266,000 OAK VIEW 93022 $200,000 OJAI 93023 $250,000 OXNARD 93030 $205,000 93033 $140,000 93035 $229,000 PORT HUENEME 93041 $144,000 SANTA PAULA 93060 $153,000 SIMI VALLEY 93063 $224,000 93065 $248,000 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 $299,000 91360 $234,000 91361 $425,000 91362 $312,000 VENTURA 93001 $209,000 93003 $199,000 93004 $190,000 COUNTY LINE / CANYON AREA 90265 $199,500 COUNTYWIDE $230,000

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Source: Acxiom / DataQuick Information Systems