Unemployment Dips; Home Sales Stay Strong
The Ventura County economy barreled into February, racking up solid home sales and 3.9% unemployment--a jobless rate as low as it’s ever been.
The unemployment rate tied previous lows that came last May and in March of 1989. In February 1999, the unemployment rate was 5%.
“We’d have to say you’re plumbing new depths here,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. “You’re in strong new territory this year.”
The county added about 2,700 jobs in February, most in farming, where employment is fluid and largely follows seasons and harvesting. The strawberry harvest accounted for much of the hiring in February, said Dee Johnson, a labor market analyst at the state’s Employment Development Department, which produced the report.
The growth rate over the year is at a stellar 4%, with 11,000 more jobs than during the same period in 1999.
“Last month was filled with nothing but rain, but it was still strong in farming and construction,” said Mark Schniepp, director of the Center for Regional Economic Research in Santa Barbara. “It’s certainly nothing like the typical February. This is a big deal.”
Government hiring increased by 500 jobs, and the services sector added about 300. Construction and transportation, which have been growing steadily and are still well above the same period last year, lost 500 jobs and 300 jobs, respectively.
About 384,200 Ventura County residents are employed locally or elsewhere, up from 380,000 in January, according to the state’s figures. Ventura County’s unemployment ranks 13th lowest among the state’s counties. Los Angeles County was at 5.6%, Orange County at 2.3% and Riverside and San Bernardino at 4.7% and 4.2%, respectively.
Just as employment showed strong growth through the beginning of the year, the housing market evidenced continued signs of good health, according to another report released Friday.
Last month, 971 homes were sold in the county--up more than 23% from February 1999. And the median home price grew 14.5% over the same period last year, from $227,000 to $260,000.
The figures include new and resale homes as well as condominiums, and the median is the price at which half the homes cost more and half cost less.
“These numbers are stronger than we anticipated,” said John Karevoll, an analyst at Acxiom/Dataquick, which released the report. “It may have been deferred activity from January, people watching the interest rates. Then again, it may just be that we had an extra day.”
Despite recent rate hikes and the potential for more, any change in the housing market is unlikely until interest rates hit 10%, he said.
“Interest rates are important when people are stretching their finances. But they’re not,” he said. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were at 7.99% Friday, according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of nearly 3,000 banks in 50 states.
“We were way up over last February in the office I manage,” said Kathy Mehringer, president of Fred Sands Brown Realty in Westlake Village. “There’s a tremendous amount of consumer confidence, and interest rates aren’t bothering anyone in the move-up process.”
While prices and interest rates aren’t keeping people out of the market, Mehringer said, they do offer a challenge for entry-level buyers.
The real estate markets in Santa Paula and Fillmore--where prices are considered to be more affordable--bore that out, as more median-ranged buyers flocked to those cities. Fillmore experienced the highest growth in sales numbers, skyrocketing 250%, with median prices up 47.1% to $206,000.
Santa Paula saw the next-largest rise in sales, with an 85.7% increase, to 26 homes sold. The median price rose slightly from the year before, to $155,000. In Moorpark, sales rose 67%, with the median price up 27.6%.
Only in Ojai and parts of Thousand Oaks did home sales drop from the year before. In Ojai, sales fell nearly a third.
With continued low unemployment--and an increasing demand for employees--analysts expect the housing market to get tighter.
“You’re getting down into tight territory,” Kyser said. “You’re going to see the importing of workers from the San Fernando Valley area. The housing availability is going to start to pinch.”
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Ventura County House Sales
February 1999 February 2000 CAMARILLO
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93010 61 $242,000 75 $316,000 93012 41 $250,000 48 $299,000
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FILLMORE
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93015 6 $140,000 21 $206,000
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MOORPARK
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93021 28 $222,000 47 $270,000
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OAK PARK
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 91377 17 $271,000 33 $277,500
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OAK VIEW
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93022 9 $182,000 N/A $N/A
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OJAI
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93023 20 $235,000 14 $282,000
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OXNARD
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93030 62 $188,000 82 $216,000 93033 33 $151,000 38 $162,000 93035 28 $198,000 30 $245,000
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PORT HUENEME
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93041 25 $143,000 29 $168,000
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SANTA PAULA
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93060 14 $138,000 26 $155,000
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SIMI VALLEY
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93063 59 $226,000 75 $225,000 93065 99 $237,000 114 $282,000
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THOUSAND OAKS
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 91320 62 $284,000 80 $330,000 91360 47 $229,000 34 $247,000 91361 17 $323,000 15 $292,000 91362 48 $252,000 67 $357,000
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VENTURA
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Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93001 31 $218,000 39 $208,000 93003 40 $186,000 72 $225,000 93004 21 $224,000 32 $242,000 COUNTYWIDE * 789 $227,000 971 $260,000
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Source: Acxiom / DataQuick Information Systems
