Valley Property Sales Continue Resurgence

After a brief lull over the holidays, the resurgence in property sale prices in the San Fernando Valley continued in January, according to a real estate report released Monday.

Single-family home sales were down from the record high a year ago but were still strong enough to make last month the second-best January of the decade, said a report by the Southland Regional Assn. of Realtors.

The median price of homes rose to $190,000 in January, an 8.9% increase from the previous month, according to the report.

The figures indicate that the recovery in Valley property values--following the decline caused by the recession of the early 1990s and the Northridge earthquake--is continuing, said Jim Link, executive vice president of the association.

“What we’re seeing is the rebound that really carried well through 1998 will continue into 1999,” Link said. “Maybe prices won’t go up quite as fast as they did last year, but they’re certainly on the upswing.”

Link also pointed out that January open escrows, typically a reliable measure of future sales activity, increased significantly from the previous year.

“That’s an indication that buyers are out there and deals are being made,” he said.

One factor that may slow sales is limited inventory. New listings of homes for sale increased by only 1.9% in January from December, according to the report. Link noted that, historically, homeowners favor putting their houses on the market in the spring.

The rebound in property values was especially apparent in some of the higher-end areas of the Valley, especially Encino and Tarzana, Link said

Condo owners also saw strong gains, with a 19.4% increase in median price from the previous month to $123,000.

More significantly, condo owners, driven by market optimism, are putting their homes up for sale in increasing numbers, Link said. New listings of condo sales increased 10.6%, the report said.

“It’s a case of where sellers now are seeing the market is good,” Link said. “Now sellers who maybe two years ago couldn’t sell their home for what they paid, now they have equity, they can sell their home and put the equity into their new home.”

The strong real estate market is driven by a strong economy overall, a good job base and low interest rates, Link said.

“The whole Southern California economy has been real strong in the last couple of months, and the real estate market is just part of that,” he said.