County’s Home Sales Dip 0.9% as Prices Rise
Ventura County home sales dropped slightly last month compared with a year earlier, as prices continued to rise.
Economists say the slight drop could signal a leveling of the housing market, but they remain uncertain how the terror attacks of Sept. 11 will ultimately affect local real estate.
In the latest figures, home sales in September were down by 0.9% from last year. Meanwhile, the median home price was $287,000, a 7.1% increase from $268,000 in September 2000.
Economist Bill Watkins, director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project, said it was too early to tell what the fallout of the terror attacks might be. He said most homes now in escrow were probably bought before the attacks in New York and on the Pentagon.
“I would expect to see that data later this month or early next month,” he said. “It got pretty slow there for a few weeks. It will be interesting to see the effect on the price.”
But economist Mark Schniepp was optimistic, saying the small dip in housing sales, the increase in prices and the settling of the stock market were good signs.
“If home sales came down 15% or 20%, then I would say there is an obvious effect here, but 1% or less than 1% is just average variability. . . .The decrease is insignificant,” said Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara.
Schniepp said there had initially been some consumer retrenchment after the attacks, but added that confidence seems to have risen since then.
“The stock market has stabilized and is rallying,” Schniepp said. “We have entered into a war that is highly supported by the American public. The economy doesn’t seem to be floundering.
“The Southern California economy seems very strong. I think the worst is definitely over.”
In September 2000, 1,385 homes were sold in Ventura County. Last month, 1,372 were sold.
Sales in September were significantly lower than in August. Home sales in August jumped 27% from sales the same time a year before. The median home price rose 11.6% in August.
Fillmore saw the biggest increase in median home price in September, up 43.5% to $259,000. It also posted the most sales gain, with eight homes sold in September 2000 and 22 sold last month.
Santa Paula recorded the largest dip in prices, with the median home price falling 22.5% to $155,000 last month.
Moorpark recorded the biggest plunge in sales--82 homes sold in September 2000 compared with 49 last month.
The numbers were compiled by DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla and include all homes, houses and condominiums.
