Climate Right as Home Sales Climb in January

California homes sold at a surprisingly brisk pace in January, pushed along by continued low interest rates and perhaps even by the relative lack of rain this winter.

Sales of existing single-family, detached homes increased 11.6% in January, compared to the same month a year ago, the California Assn. of Realtors reported.

Home prices in the state also continued their steady climb in almost all communities, the group said.

The median price of a single-family California home rose to $202,370 last month, a 6.2% increase over January 1998. Figures do not include sales of condominiums or newly built homes.

“The activity strength so far in 1999 has really exceeded expectations,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for CAR, which collects its data from more than 90 multiple-listing services around the state.

“We were really expecting to see more of a leveling-off,” she said.

The U.S. economy, defying predictions of a slowdown, gave the market a boost. But some real estate agents pointed out that January’s clear skies helped.

“Weather’s always an issue,” said Steve Miller, a sales manager for ReMax Beach Cities in Marina del Rey. His 47 agents report many more buyers on the streets this year, and he credits the weather with stoking the market’s activity. “On sunny days, things snowball in a positive direction.”

Los Angeles had only five rainy days this January compared with 10 last year, according to WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times. San Francisco had 22 in January 1998 and 12 this January.

And although January historically is a rather slow sales month, “a good January is a barometer to look at what’s coming up,” said Jim Link of the Southland Regional Assn. of Realtors, one of the groups that reports sales figures to CAR.

The group’s San Fernando and Santa Clarita-based membership had a very active month, Link said, with Santa Clarita activity increasing 20% over last year.

Weather conditions aside, some real estate agents say the reason homes are moving quickly is because word of the strong market has reached the public.

“The market is perceived as being hot,” said Brian Thornton of Thornton Realty in Long Beach.

Hot enough that 27% more homes were sold in Riverside and San Bernardino counties last month than in January 1998, according to the CAR data.

The median price in those counties rose to $118,470, a year-to-year increase of 3.9%.

Orange County sales rose 8.6%, and the median price climbed 10.7% to $265,310. In Los Angeles County, the median rose to $186,840, an 8.9% jump, and sales increased a modest 1.6%.

January sales leaped 45.5% in the San Luis Obispo region.

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Price Hike

Median price of single-family homes in California, in thousands:

January 1998: $190,550

January 1999: $202,370

January median prices by county:

Los Angeles: $186,840

Orange: 265,310

Riverside/San Bernardino: 118,470

San Diego: 219,320

Ventura: 242,260

Source: California Assn. of Realtors