State’s Housing Prices and Sales Rate Continue to Climb in April

California’s housing market continued to steam ahead in April, with the median sales price of existing homes jumping nearly 10% from the same month last year as the pace of home sales quickened, according to real estate figures released Tuesday.

The median price of an existing single-family house sold in April rose to $199,160--a 9.9% increase on a year-over-year basis, according to the California Assn. of Realtors. The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of home sales reached 607,460 properties, which is up 1.1% from March and more than 15% from April 1997. The figures do not include new homes or condominiums.

“The San Francisco Bay Area, particularly Santa Clara, is the Godzilla of the nation’s real estate market,” said association President Tim Corliss. “In Southern California, Orange County again led the pack, followed closely by Ventura.”

According to the April results, the median sales price in Orange County rose 12.5% from the same month last year to $250,870, while sales soared nearly 35% during the same period. In Ventura, sales jumped 26.1% while the median price rose 5.2% to $225,500. In Los Angeles County, the median rose 9.6% in April to $186,760 and sales climbed 15.5%.

“The housing market in Southern California, which has lagged . . . the Bay Area for the past several months, has really taken off,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the Realtors’ group. “Even Los Angeles County, which was particularly hard hit by the economic downturn of the early ‘90s, is now approaching a double-digit increase in its median home price.”

Southern California real estate agents reported that sales region-wide remained brisk as prices continued to climb or at least remained steady in most communities.

Stephanie Vitacco, a Fred Sands agent in the San Fernando Valley, said the fast pace of sales finds her with 20 to 30 property listings instead of the nearly 70 she had last year. One recent listing, a 4,000-square-foot house in Granada Hills, had multiple offers and sold in its first weekend on the market at $12,000 above the asking price.

“Everything is selling . . . from the cheapies to the high end,” Vitacco said.

Scott Gibson, who heads Los Angeles area operations for Coldwell Banker Jon Douglas, said desirable Westside neighborhoods such as Pacific Palisades continue to see strong demand from buyers despite spiraling prices. In fact, the $705,000 median sales price reported in Pacific Palisades was among the 10 highest in the state, according to real estate association figures.

“The market continues to be extremely strong,” Gibson said.

But Gibson said the market traditionally slows a bit as it enters the summer months.

In addition, many home sellers are disappointed to find that they cannot raise prices as fast as they would like. One North Hills home that sat unsold for many months sold quickly after the owner cut the asking price by $4,000, Vitacco said. “If it sits for more than 60 days, something is wrong.”

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Getting Pricier

Seasonally adjusted annual sales rate, in thousands of units, and median price for single-family detached homes:

Sales

in thousands

April: 607,460

*

Median price

in thousands

April: $199,160

Source: California Assn. of Realtors