Valley Home Sales Off to a Fast Start

Despite limited availability, more single-family homes were sold in the San Fernando Valley last month than in any January since 1989, real estate specialists said.

A total of 903 homes were sold during the month, representing a 32% jump from last year, according to the Southland Regional Assn. of Realtors. In January 1989, the best January on record, 1,057 homes sold, according to the association.

Although Valley housing is in high demand, existing homes or vacant lots on which to build are scarce, said Jim Link, executive vice president of the association.

“That’s true in the Valley,” Link said, “but quite honestly, that’s true in surrounding areas as well.”

The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums continued to shrink last month. With 3,116 properties listed for sale, it was down 26% from a year ago, he said.

Fewer homes create higher demand and higher selling prices, said Olga Moretti, president of the association.

The median single-family home resale price--the price at which half the homes sold for more and half for less--was $279,000, 19% higher than in January 2001. The condominium median resale price rose to a record $175,000, up 22% from January 2001. The price beat the previous high of $160,000 set last October.

“As the median price goes up, people are having trouble getting into the housing market,” Moretti said. “The condo market is picking up because that is a way of getting in.”

In the Santa Clarita Valley, single-family home sales hit record highs, with a 30% increase compared to a year ago. Condominium sales were up 12%. A spate of new housing developments has heated up the market there, Link said.

“The situation there is that the new construction helps feed the market for resales,” Link said. “People go up there to look for homes in new tracts and find their dollar buys a little more in a resale.”

Only 671 Santa Clarita properties were listed for sale last month, down 40% from a year ago. The median resale price of homes last month was $279,000, up 14% from a year ago. The median resale price of condos in January set a high of $167,900, a 14% jump from a year ago.