County’s Real Estate Frenzy Eases in July

Ventura County’s housing market remained strong in July, but real estate agents say the bidding wars of a few weeks ago have abated as rising prices make buyers more cautious.

“It’s not as much of a frenzy,” said Karen Campbell, president of the Ventura County Coastal Assn. of Realtors, which represents agents in six west county cities. “Fewer people are looking at each house, and we’re not seeing as many multiple offers as we did. Realtors feel the market is changing.”

Still, it remained hot in July, hovering near an all-time high for the month. Prices did dip slightly, but the $331,000 price for a typical house was still 20% higher than a year ago.

Analyst John Karevoll said the $4,000 price decline last month is an aberration that occurs nearly every July as the number of new houses sold declines after a June push by builders to increase sales at the close of the quarter.

Just 174 new homes sold last month, compared with 204 in June. On average, new houses cost about $100,000 more than an existing home when it is resold, so a decline in new home sales pushes down the county’s median price overall.

“I don’t put much importance in the price decline,” said Karevoll of DataQuick Information Services, which tracks completed sales. “Sales and prices are still strong. Analysts kept telling us this market was going to go off a cliff, but I haven’t seen it.”

Sales of houses and condos totaled 1,621 last month, up 63 from the month before and 45 higher than the previous July.

That represented the second strongest performance for a July in 14 years.

After last month’s slight drop, Ventura County’s median home price--where half of sales are higher and half lower--was up $56,000 from July 2001 and $145,000 higher than in 1995 at the bottom of the real estate market.

If Campbell sees a stabilizing of the market in the west county, Peter Greer, president elect of the Conejo Valley Assn. of Realtors, says the boom of 2002 is powering right through the summer.

“Usually interest starts waning toward the end of summer, but interest is growing,” Greer said. “People are still out there buying, and we’re getting an awful lot of inquiries now from investors, who will push up the lower-priced end of the market.”

Sales of homes and condos under $300,000 are already almost immediate, he said.

Greer said he does see some reluctance by buyers of houses selling for $350,000 to $450,000.

“There just doesn’t seem to be the interest there,” he said. “Then it picks up again over $500,000.”

The reason is, he said, that many of the moderate-priced homes are older and in standard condition.

People are reluctant to stretch their budget for such a home, while they may stretch their budget for a nicer, more expensive new home.

“There’s isn’t that big difference in price in some of these homes, yet look at the homes and there’s a big difference,” he said.

The market remains strong countywide, with only Port Hueneme registering a decline in sales and price compared with July 2001.

Sellers in the Lake Sherwood and Westlake areas saw the sales price of a typical house increase $150,500 to $538,000 in the past 12 months.

In Oak Park, sales and prices were relatively flat. Simi Valley’s price growth was below the county norm. But Moorpark had a sharp increase in sales and a tidy 24% increase in prices.

Central Ventura continued a huge run-up in sales price, from $252,000 12 months ago to $340,000 today.

And the city of Ojai experienced a 56% increase in sales compared with last July and saw its typical price rise more than $90,000 to $392,000.

Agents say the continued decline of mortgage interest rates will only fuel the boom.

Fixed home loan rates reached 30-year lows or hovered near them last week.

For Southern California, average rates for fixed-rate, 30-year loans were 6.22% with a one-point fee last week, and 5.68% for a 15-year loan, said Earl Peattie, vice president of National Financial News Services.

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*--* Breakdown by ZIP Code July 2001 July 2002 City ZIP Code Sales Median Price Sales Median Price Camarillo 93010 71 $303,500 84 $349,000 Camarillo 93012 70 $275,000 86 $339,250 Fillmore 93015 20 $217,500 30 $248,000 Moorpark 93021 60 $275,000 79 $340,000 Oak Park 91377 55 $391,500 58 $400,250 Oak View 93022 10 $279,000 10 $370,000 Ojai 93023 25 $301,500 39 $392,000 Oxnard 93030 96 $235,000 109 $280,000 Oxnard 93033 78 $194,455 73 $236,750 Oxnard 93035 66 $278,750 64 $320,000 Port Hueneme 93041 47 $216,000 38 $210,000 Santa Paula 93060 42 $175,000 38 $205,500 Simi Valley 93063 123 $269,000 119 $294,000 Simi Valley 93065 176 $260,000 176 $300,000 Thousand Oaks 91320 105 $352,000 111 $430,730 Thousand Oaks 91360 77 $315,000 82 $345,000 Thousand Oaks 91361 34 $387,500 35 $538,000 Thousand Oaks 91362 99 $370,000 101 $439,750 Ventura 93001 68 $259,500 50 $322,500 Ventura 93003 107 $252,000 117 $340,000 Ventura 93004 48 $310,000 44 $332,500 Countywide 1,576 $275,000 1,621 $331,000 Source: DataQuick Information Systems

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*--* July home sales, 1988-2002

Year Sales Median Price 1988 1,794 $188,000 1989 1,026 $232,000 1990 798 $217,000 1991 902 $216,000 1992 842 $208,000 1993 817 $198,000 1994 909 $191,000 1995 692 $186,000 1996 909 $193,000 1997 1,101 $202,000 1998 1,662 $224,000 1999 1,577 $230,000 2000 1,213 $254,000 2001 1,576 $275,000 2002 1,621 $331,000

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