House Sales, Prices Rise Despite Hikes in Mortgages

In spite of hikes in mortgage rates, Ventura County’s real estate market overall posted significant gains in August and prices continued to rise.

Housing sales increased nearly 8% from the same period a year before, with 1,492 homes sold, up from 1,387 in August 1998, according to a report released Thursday.

In addition, the median selling price jumped nearly 6% to $238,000, $6,000 lower than the record median home price that was posted in the county in June.

The report includes new and resale homes as well as condominiums.

“It’s just more of the same,” said John Karevoll, an analyst at Acxiom / DataQuick, which released the report.

“[August 1998] was a really strong month and to see an increase over those numbers just shows how strong the market and overall economy is in Ventura County,” he said.

Most of the real estate activity last month was centered in such east county communities as Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.

In Thousand Oaks’ 91320 ZIP Code, sales increased by more than 54% from the year before with 122 homes sold. The median price, or the point at which half the homes are above and the other half below, also increased, marching up more than 22% to $291,000.

Sales in Simi Valley’s 93063 ZIP Code jumped more than 41% with the purchase of 119 homes last month. The median price there increased nearly 24% to $240,000.

In Ventura’s 93003 ZIP Code, sales increased 38%, with 98 homes sold at a median price of $202,000, up more than 12% from the year before.

“Right now, everyone seems to think that real estate is the thing to have, and there are so many [financing] options out there that it’s really easy for someone to buy,” said Pat Patterson, president of the Ventura County Coastal Assn. of Realtors.

Despite the uptick in sales, some communities saw marginal to substantial drops in sales.

In Thousand Oaks’ 91361 ZIP Code, sales dropped off by about 25%. The median price there, however, increased 26% to $431,000.

In Ventura’s 93004 ZIP Code, sales dropped nearly 29%, and in Camarillo’s 93010 ZIP Code, home sales fell by about 8%.

Analysts said they expect the county’s real estate market to remain healthy, but added that it could be affected if there was a major correction in the stock market or if mortgage rates rise another percentage point.

To stave off inflationary concerns, the Federal Reserve Board has approved a series of interest rate hikes over the past three months and left the door open for future hikes. That has increased mortgage rates from about 6.5% to about 7.5% now.

“Those are big ifs,” Karevoll said. “Right now, when I look out at the market, I don’t see much that makes me think there’s going to be much of a change. . . . Things are still very good and I think they’ll stay that way for a while.”