Home Prices in O.C. Climb to March Record

Bolstered by a sizzling economy, the price of a typical Orange County home streaked to $232,000 last month, the highest ever recorded in March, a real estate research firm said Thursday.

The price surge comes as the market enters one of its busiest seasons of the year, setting the stage for new all-time records, analysts said.

Indeed, the median home price--half sold for more and half for less--should wipe out the old record of $236,000 by May or June, predicted John Karevoll, an analyst with Acxiom/Dataquick Information Systems Inc. of La Jolla, which prepared the report.

“From all indications, 1999 will be the strongest year ever for home sales, and certainly for prices,” Karevoll said.

The March median price of $232,000 was 5% higher than the median price of $221,000 in March 1998. In February, the typical home sold for $226,000.

Sales climbed 9.5% to 4,446 homes, making it the busiest March since 1989.

It marked the 22nd consecutive month that home values have risen above the same month a year earlier.

Unlike recent years, the center of gravity has shifted from homes priced over $500,000 to the middle and lower price ranges. Indeed, condominium sales last month topped 1,000, up 36% over the same month a year earlier.

With the housing market benefiting from single-digit mortgage rates, record low unemployment, and the stock market scaling new heights, buyer optimism has soared.

“People are realizing that the economy is good, their confidence is up and it’s a good time to buy,” said Don Moe, a senior vice president at the Irvine Co..

The company, which has developed the world’s largest planned community, completed its best sales quarter ever in the first three months this year, surpassing its previous peak by 50%, Moe said.

As home values rise and the market continues to recover from its severe downturn earlier this decade, more homeowners are putting their homes on the market and moving up to bigger homes, analysts said.

Since October, the number of homes for sale has increased about 25%, creating a 3.2-month housing supply. Still, that is about half of the normal inventory, said Patrick Veling, partner of Dynamic Marketing Resources Inc., a real estate analysis firm in Fullerton.

Surprisingly, he said, inventories of luxury homes costing $500,000 or more has been tighter than for less expensive properties. “There remains a luxury shortage in Orange County that builders have yet to respond to, especially along the South County coast, even at a $700,000-plus price point,” he said.

As an example, buyers stood in line several days in March, like teenagers waiting for rock concert tickets, to buy million-dollar homes in Newport Coast.

The general housing crunch could be eased a bit, however, as hundreds of homes open this summer in three master-planned communities in South Orange County.

“The big increase in supply will really help the situation quite a bit,” said Dave Chapman, an analyst at Haskell & White LLP, a Newport Beach accounting firm that specializes in real estate.

But for Laura Lopez and her husband, Martin, who was recently transferred to Orange County, the change cannot come soon enough. The Lopezes have just begun searching South County, especially the Pacific Hills area of Mission Viejo.

They found four homes around the city they liked, and four times real estate agents told them the houses already were in escrow.

“It seems the inventory is still lagging, because premium properties are selling so quickly,” said Lopez, 29, a senior real estate consultant for E&Y; Kenneth Laventhol in Century City.

As a result, the Lopezes will look for a fixer needing cosmetic repairs. But they’ll get prequalified, and be ready to pounce when something comes available, she said.

“I think the key right now would be to find two or three homes I’d be interested in making an offer on, and avoiding a competitive bid situation.”

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Orange County Home Sales

The median home sale price in March was $232,000, a 5% jump from $221,000 one year ago. Sales increased to 4,446, up 9.5% from March, 1998. Sales and median price per square foot for new and resale homes and condominiums, by ZIP code:

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Community Pct. Median Pct. ’97 Med. ’98 Med. /Zip Sales Chng. price Chng. Sq.Ft.(1) Sq.Ft.(1) Aliso Viejo 92656 193 30.4% $202,000 17.4% $128 $123 Anaheim 92801 45 73.1% $175,500 26.0% $121 $131 Anaheim 92802 35 25.0% $176,000 12.1% $110 $124 Anaheim 92804 73 37.7% $177,000 7.9% $117 $132 Anaheim 92805 46 21.1% $176,000 16.0% $120 $130 Anaheim 92806 16 -40.7% $203,182 6.9% $115 $130 Anaheim 92807 57 -24.0% $235,000 4.0% $122 $139 Anaheim 92808 68 23.6% $197,250 -18.8% $139 $155 Brea 92821 55 31.0% $239,000 12.2% $132 $144 Buena Park 90620 55 25.0% $183,000 7.0% $124 $143 Buena Park 90621 38 11.8% $193,000 41.7% $106 $136 Corona del Mar 92625 24 -41.5% $729,000 24.6% $343 $334 Costa Mesa 92626 50 4.2% $242,500 15.8% $143 $155 Costa Mesa 92627 67 -4.3% $237,000 7.7% $169 $183 Cypress 90630 49 -5.8% $225,000 26.4% $123 $153 Dana Point 92624 8 -46.7% $282,500 -13.1% $166 $190 Dana Point 92629 86 43.3% $310,000 17.0% $185 $208 Foothill Ranch 92610 31 -13.9% $250,000 5.0% $143 $153 Fountain Valley 92708 96 23.1% $250,000 4.2% $136 $138 Fullerton 92831 41 -14.6% $192,500 2.7% $130 $145 Fullerton 92832 23 53.3% $166,000 3.8% $117 $142 Fullerton 92833 75 47.1% $195,000 16.2% $126 $147 Fullerton 92835 28 -31.7% $280,000 16.7% $134 $149 Garden Grove 92840 41 -12.8% $178,000 18.7% $121 $133 Garden Grove 92841 37 48.0% $185,500 11.1% $114 $137 Garden Grove 92843 24 -25.0% $146,500 -0.3% $127 $124 Garden Grove 92844 25 78.6% $175,000 66.7% $93 $130 Garden Grove 92845 14 -53.3% $223,750 11.9% $156 $171 Huntington Beach 92646 79 -3.7% $232,500 0.2% $152 $166 Huntington Beach 92647 60 -6.3% $238,750 9.1% $159 $175 Huntington Beach 92648 85 -24.1% $340,000 -1.3% $158 $185 Huntington Beach 92649 62 -10.1% $255,500 -6.8% $181 $203 Irvine 92604 59 18.0% $253,000 12.3% $154 $178 Irvine 92606 37 5.7% $267,754 -8.0% $161 $141 Irvine 92612 42 -31.1% $300,000 27.7% $186 $189 Irvine 92614 54 10.2% $230,750 -5.3% $167 $188 Irvine 92620 70 11.1% $240,500 -1.6% $144 $165 La Habra 90631 56 12.0% $160,000 -2.9% $120 $126 La Palma 90623 17 -19.0% $275,000 13.6% $117 $130 Laguna Beach 92651 56 1.8% $460,000 -8.4% $300 $310 Laguna Hills 92653 123 19.4% $165,000 -16.9% $146 $158 Laguna Niguel 92677 196 7.1% $289,500 9.2% $159 $181 Lake Forest 92630 142 35.2% $214,500 2.1% $134 $149 Los Alamitos 90720 20 42.9% $304,500 -10.4% $184 $199 Mission Viejo 92691 90 -16.7% $215,750 -1.3% $139 $155 Mission Viejo 92692 120 -13.7% $275,386 -7.3% $138 $157 Newport Beach 92657 13 -35.0% $567,500 5.1% $232 n/a Newport Beach 92660 62 -16.2% $527,500 4.5% $231 $267 Newport Beach 92661 8 100.0% $767,500 9.7% $254 $353 Newport Beach 92663 28 -30.0% $203,500 -45.9% $325 $258 Orange 92865 20 -4.8% $224,250 19.3% $123 $137 Orange 92866 13 0.0% $215,000 16.2% $147 $187 Orange 92867 52 33.3% $224,250 -7.1% $134 $146 Orange 92868 16 6.7% $164,750 17.7% $110 $140 Orange 92869 87 16.0% $233,000 -12.6% $133 $154 Placentia 92870 70 14.8% $227,000 8.1% $123 $133 R. Santa Margarita 92688 152 -2.6% $237,000 24.4% $128 $145 S. Juan Capistrano 92675 53 0.0% $289,000 7.0% $132 $147 San Clemente 92672 85 30.8% $265,000 5.9% $171 $195 San Clemente 92673 41 24.2% $339,000 4.3% $176 $211 Santa Ana 92701 38 81.0% $133,500 16.1% $105 $136 Santa Ana 92703 40 14.3% $147,750 31.9% $112 $128 Santa Ana 92704 75 25.0% $161,000 14.0% $123 $137 Santa Ana* 92705 50 -19.4% $326,000 6.9% $145 $153 Santa Ana 92706 34 0.0% $184,750 7.4% $123 $140 Santa Ana 92707 50 16.3% $159,000 13.6% $118 $136 Seal Beach 90740 28 55.6% $346,500 6.6% $170 $187 Stanton 90680 31 19.2% $127,000 -7.6% $120 $112 Trabuco/Coto 92679 125 52.4% $403,000 43.9% $134 $163 Tustin 92780 64 14.3% $172,000 -20.0% $120 $136 Tustin 92782 60 27.7% $232,000 0.9% $139 $151 Villa Park 92861 11 0.0% $529,000 16.3% $152 $170 Westminster 92683 105 72.1% $194,000 10.9% $135 $135 Yorba Linda 92886 77 -4.9% $263,000 -2.6% $137 $141 Yorba Linda 92887 57 11.8% $375,000 22.1% $144 $161 Other -- 133 -- -- -- -- -- Countywide 4,446 9.5% $232,000 5.0% $138 $152

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*Includes Lemon/Cowan Heights

Sales, Price Trends

The median home sale price in March was $232,000, a 5% jump from $221,000 one year ago. Sales increased to 4,446, up 9.5% from March, 1998. Sales and median price per square foot for new and resale homes and condominiums, by ZIP code:

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Sales Median price 1998 March 4,061 $221,000 April 4,589 $220,000 May 4,507 $226,000 June 5,098 $236,000 July 5,259 $229,000 Aug. 4,710 $230,000 Sept. 4,331 $227,000 Oct. 3,913 $230,000 Nov. 3,578 $229,000 Dec. 4,330 $236,000 1999 Jan. 2,804 $231,000 Feb. 3,002 $226,000 March 4,446 $232,000

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March March sales median price 1995 2,531 $196,000 1996 3,060 $187,000 1997 3,065 $193,000 1998 4,061 $221,000 1999 4,446 $232,000

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Number of Sales

1991: 2,421

1999: 4,446

Source: Acxiom/DataQuick Information Systems; Researched by JANICE JONES DODDS / Los Angeles Times