Single-Family Home Sales Rise in December

The pace of single-family home sales in California for December rose 0.8% from November to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 566,590 properties, according to the California Assn. of Realtors. The report does not include the sales of new homes and condominiums. The California median sales price in December fell 1.6% from November to $189,990. However, on a year-over-year basis, the median rose 10.5%--the largest year-over-year gain since September 1989. In the Los Angeles area, the median sales price rose 0.6% from November to $176,930; the Orange County median price went up 0.1% to $238,100; the figures for Los Angeles and Orange counties are not seasonally adjusted. Separately, the National Assn. of Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes nationwide reached 4.21 million housing units in 1997, the highest sales total on record. The record was set despite a drop in sales in December, when they fell 2.1% from the previous month. However, the December sales rate was still up 8.6% from December 1996. The national group said nationwide existing-home sales could top 4 million units again in 1998 but warned that the Asian financial crisis could hurt the market.