Home Sales Register Healthy Gain From ’97

Sales of single-family houses in west Ventura County in December registered a 4% gain over the same period a year earlier, the Ventura County Coastal Assn. of Realtors reported.

The association said 254 single-family homes were sold last month, compared with 244 in December 1997. Condominium sales shot up 48% in December, with 95 sold compared with 64 a year earlier.

Association president Pat Patterson attributed the increased sales to confidence in the economy and low interest rates.

The median price of single-family residences in west Ventura County was $205,000 in December, compared with $197,000 a year earlier. The median price is the point at which half the houses sold for more and half sold for less. Condominiums sold at a median price of $125,000, compared with $115,000 in December 1997.

The sales figures represent homes sold in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Port Hueneme, Fillmore and parts of Ojai.