West County Home Sales Are Down, but Prices Up

Sales of single-family homes in west Ventura County dipped in July from the previous year, but the price of the houses that sold jumped 12% from a year ago, according to the Ventura County Coastal Assn. of Realtors.

The association reported that 316 single-family homes sold in July in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Port Hueneme, Fillmore and parts of Ojai. That was an 8% drop from the 344 that sold in those areas in July 1998.

However, July sales of condominiums jumped 40% over the same period last year--134 sold this year, compared with 96 in July 1998.

The median price of single-family houses sold in July was $234,000, compared to $209,000 a year earlier. Condominiums sold at the median price of $150,000 last month, compared with $138,000 a year ago, a 9% increase. The median price is the point where half of the residences sold for more and half sold for less.

The average marketing time for houses remained the same this year as last--67 days. However, the pace of condominium sales picked up, selling in an average of 53 days last month compared with 66 days during the same period last year.