Valley Home Prices Climb to 6-Year High
Pushed by the strong economy and high demand, prices for single-family homes in the San Fernando Valley hit a six-year high last month, shooting up 14.1% over year-ago figures.
The median resale price for a single-family home rose to $211,000 in April, the highest level since January 1993, when the median price was $213,000.
Condominium prices increased even more, by 18.6% over April 1998, as rising housing costs pushed many buyers into the condo market.
“We see prices going up. We’ve been seeing this now for months and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down,” said Beth Sommer, president of the Southland Regional Assn. of Realtors, which released the figures.
In addition to the robust economy, Sommer said the price increase was caused by a dearth of homes for sale, a trend exacerbated by a lack of land in the Valley for new home construction.
The availability of homes on the market continues to be low. There were just over 4,000 single-family homes for sale in April. During 1993, close to 10,000 homes were available at any given time.
“With a lower number of properties on the market than we’d like, people are willing to pay a little more for the property they want,” Sommer said.
Although home sales were not as robust as last year in April, 1,208 single-family homes closed escrow last month, an 11% increase over March.
Fourteen fewer homes were sold last month than in April 1998, about a 4% drop. Sommer said the dip was not unexpected, because 1998 was such a strong year for housing sales.
“I don’t think that we can get another 1998,” Sommer said. “But we’re going to be so much over ‘96, ’95 and ’94. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Assn. of Realtors, said the median-price increase is the strongest signal that the Valley real estate market is firing on all cylinders.
“When you talk to agents, they say the competition for homes is super-intense,” she said. “A house goes on the market, it gets a bunch of offers above the listing price. We’re starting to see some of the same buying and selling behavior as places like Silicon Valley.”
Because the housing market is so tight, many would-be homeowners are making bids on condominiums, according to the monthly report. April’s condo market was one of the hottest on record.
The median price for condos jumped to $127,500, while sales increased 13% with 331 sold.
The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
The latest sales and price figures confirm the experience of brokers such as Pat “Ziggy” Zicarelli, owner of Style Realty and Investments in Tarzana.
“It looks like the market is going to remain strong for sometime,” he said. “You’re seeing things you wouldn’t have seen a few years back, like multiple buyers for low-end and high-end homes. I’ve got a $650,000 home in Encino that just got five different offers; that’s something else!”
