Home Prices and Sales Jump as Shortage Drives Market
Ventura County appeared to ignore signs of an impending economic downturn in December, racking up higher prices and sales in a housing market that, because of extremely tight inventory, seems to be immune from nationwide slowing.
A housing slowdown “could easily bypass California,” said Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast Project, who specializes in the local economy. “It’s because of the housing [shortage].”
The median price for homes in Ventura County jumped 6.5% from December 1999 to $263,000 last month, and the number of homes sold climbed 7.4% to 1,476, according to a report released Friday by DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based research firm.
The year 2000 proved to be stable for home sales, though not quite matching the banner year of 1999. Last year, about 15,318 homes were sold, down slightly from 1999’s 15,666. The median price was up 8.8% to $259,000 from $238,000, an increase that economists said resulted from the law of supply and demand.
The California housing market lately seems to be impervious to other economic indicators, and one analyst suggests it’s because the state paid its dues in the last recession after years of speculative building. Demand has since caught up.
“What’s just as interesting as what’s going on is what’s not going on. I, and everyone else who does numbers, am constantly asked when the slowdown is going to roll in, and I can’t find it,” said John Karevoll, the analyst who prepared the report. “We certainly have a number of strong months ahead of us. I have a feeling the slowdown will bypass California to a large degree.”
The sales figures include new and resale homes, as well as condominiums. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
The interest rate for an average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was at 6.76% Thursday, according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of nearly 3,000 banks in 50 states. That is a drop from 7.01% a month ago.
Real estate agents concurred with analysts’ assessments of tight markets, and said buyers are jumping to get in.
“There’s some junk selling for $210,000 and the next day it’s sold,” said Charlene Clark, an agent at Century 21 La Carre in Simi Valley. “People are desperate to get something reasonable, and are willing to put $20,000 or $30,000 into renovating.”
Places like Fillmore and Santa Paula have become hot spots for sales for that reason. They are among the few places where prices are still reasonable and available, though they still sell fewer homes than more popular--and more expensive--areas such as Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, which have more homes for sale because of their larger size.
Fillmore, one of the few cities in Ventura County with much new building, had a phenomenal December, with sales skyrocketing nearly fivefold, from nine homes sold last year to 52 this year. Prices there bumped up by nearly a third, from $160,000 to $206,000, the largest jump in the county.
“People in the L.A. area think this sleepy little town will become a valuable area,” said Carolyn Hill, an agent at Fred Sands County Center Realty in Ventura. “It’s expanding how far people would drive, how far away they would live.”
Other areas with strong sales included eastern Camarillo, where sales jumped from 56 to 100 homes, and Oak Park, where sales were up 63%, to 44 homes. The largest slump was in eastern Ventura, which dropped nearly 40% to 59 homes sold.
Every city in the county experienced a price rise. West Ventura prices jumped by a quarter to $225,000, and in Moorpark, prices jumped by 22% to $277,500.
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Ventura County House Sales
CAMARILLO
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93010 87 $245,000 67 $289,000 93012 56 $253,500 100 $270,000
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FILLMORE
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93015 9 $160,000 52 $206,000
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MOORPARK
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93021 64 $227,000 52 $277,500
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OAK PARK
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 91377 27 $310,000 44 $324,500
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OAK VIEW
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93022 8 $199,000 9 $235,000
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OJAI
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93023 24 $245,000 19 $290,000
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OXNARD
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93030 124 $189,000 190 $227,000 93033 61 $150,000 71 $179,000 93035 36 $227,000 48 $250,000
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PORT HUENEME
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93041 41 $145,000 46 $165,000
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SANTA PAULA
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93060 25 $155,000 28 $166,000
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SIMI VALLEY
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93063 127 $215,000 145 $253,000 93065 204 $227,750 164 $253,000
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THOUSAND OAKS
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 91320 99 $295,000 107 $339,500 91360 87 $254,000 75 $285,000 91361 22 $376,500 23 $395,000 91362 99 $329,500 87 $382,500
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VENTURA
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price 93001 36 $180,000 30 $225,000 93003 98 $209,000 59 $233,000 93004 22 $229,500 36 $259,000
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December 1999 December 2000 Number Median Number Median City / ZIP Code of sales price of sales price COUNTYWIDE 1,374 $247,000 1,476 $263,000 YEAR TOTALS 15,666 $238,000 15,318 $259,000
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Source: DataQuick Information Systems
