Home Prices, Sales Soar to New Highs
Home prices and sales spiraled to record highs across much of the Southland last month, leading to the best May for sellers in more than a dozen years.
The robust results reported Wednesday by DataQuick Information Systems Inc. surprised some analysts who predicted the market would cool. But the small inventory of available properties combined with the incentive of falling mortgage rates coaxed buyers to pay the highest prices for existing homes and condominiums since records were kept in 1988.
The median price--the point at which half the homes sell for more and half for less--jumped nearly 18% in Los Angeles County from a year earlier to a record $258,000. It was the sixth month in a row that prices set a record, the longest streak since the last housing boom more than a decade ago.
In Orange County, which has the highest prices in Southern California, the median also surged more than 16% from a year earlier, to a record $346,000, DataQuick said.
The report covered sales that closed in May, reflecting agreements between home sellers and buyers over the last 30 to 60 days. Real estate agents said steep price appreciation has cooled the pace of sales recently and might be reflected in future reports. Some agents are advising sellers to lower their asking prices, saying buyers are growing a bit resistant to rapid price increases.
“There was more of a frenzy earlier this year in February, March and April,” said Steve Celotto, a broker at Coldwell Banker in Laguna Hills.
“Right now, if you push prices beyond the highest comparative home, it is taking a little longer to sell the house. So, the market has calmed down a little but not drastically. The bottom line is: It’s still good.”
Analysts said more consumers are turning to adjustable-rate mortgages, which have a lower rate of interest and more lenient credit criteria than fixed loans.
Usage of those mortgages grew in May by more than a third from a year earlier in Orange and Los Angeles counties, DataQuick said. At Countrywide Home Loans, consumers applying for such loans have tripled in the last couple of months, said Doug Perry, first vice president at Countrywide.
Perry said the loans, which carry interest rates in the mid-4% range, draw consumers who want to boost their buying power. So-called hybrid loans, which have fixed interest for three years before converting to a rate that changes annually, have been particularly popular, he said.
Still, only about a fourth of the loans in Los Angeles and Orange counties are being taken at adjustable rates. In previous market cycles, more than 60% of buyers contracted for variable rate loans.
Consumers applied for more home loans last week nationwide as mortgage rates dipped to their lowest level since early November, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America said in a separate report released Wednesday. A 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.53% last week, the lowest level since early November.
Good Year for Mortgages
With rates falling, the U.S. mortgage industry is expected to post its second-best year. Freddie Mac, a secondary mortgage investor, predicts lenders to issue $1.7 trillion in home loans this year, compared with a record $2.2 trillion a year earlier.
The Southland also demonstrated persistent strength in sales activity last month. Purchases surged nearly 30% to 5,091 in Orange County and jumped nearly 15% to 11,508 in Los Angeles County. John Karevoll, who compiled the report for DataQuick, said housing demand would remain strong in coming months and probably for the rest of the year if lending conditions continued to be favorable for buyers.
*
For more Times coverage of Southland housing prices, go to www.latimes.com/homeprices.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Orange County Home Sales
The median home price surged last month to a record $346,000, or 16.5% more than a year earlier. Sales also grew nearly 30% to 5,091, the highest total on record for any May since figures began being kept in 1988. Here are sales, median prices and median prices per square foot for new and resold houses and condominiums by ZIP Code:
*--* % change Median % change ’01 Med ’02 Med Communi Zip Sales From ’01 Price from ’01 sq. ft sq. ft ty Aliso 92656 166 5.1% $320,250 15.8% $174 $205 Viejo Anaheim 92801 35 6.1% $259,500 22.6% $165 $200 Anaheim 92802 25 -19.4% $260,000 9.7% $150 $199 Anaheim 92804 69 3.0% $258,000 17.9% $171 $194 Anaheim 92805 39 -13.3% $250,000 14.7% $189 $201 Anaheim 92806 24 -36.8% $316,000 18.0% $158 $179 Anaheim 92807 68 1.5% $349,250 10.9% $171 $198 Anaheim 92808 62 -16.2% $339,500 18.7% $180 $198 Brea 92821 69 25.5% $330,000 11.9% $177 $207 Buena 90620 50 -9.1% $279,000 16.0% $185 $220 Park Buena 90621 35 12.9% $289,000 40.3% $148 $189 Park Corona 92625 39 62.5% $823,000 0.5% $536 $459 del Mar Costa 92626 51 18.6% $359,000 12.2% $200 $244 Mesa Costa 92627 51 15.9% $368,000 28.9% $274 $324 Mesa Cypress 90630 63 16.7% $328,000 28.9% $182 $205 Dana 92624 9 -25.0% $456,000 32.0% $275 $279 Point Dana 92629 66 -1.5% $442,000 9.7% $262 $281 Point Foothil 92610 40 48.1% $377,500 9.4% $175 $227 l Ranch Fountai 92708 70 -26.3% $385,000 18.5% $187 $210 n Valley Fullert 92831 34 -12.8% $346,773 34.9% $186 $202 on Fullert 92832 20 11.1% $247,250 10.4% $179 $207 on Fullert 92833 66 -1.5% $276,250 16.8% $181 $199 on Fullert 92835 41 7.9% $360,000 -0.8% $179 $235 on Garden 92840 54 -10.0% $279,000 29.8% $183 $217 Grove Garden 92841 39 56.0% $278,000 18.3% $187 $215 Grove Garden 92843 28 -33.3% $256,500 40.2% $177 $219 Grove Garden 92844 26 0.0% $220,000 25.0% $160 $178 Grove Garden 92845 30 3.4% $327,250 16.9% $207 $244 Grove Hunting 92646 137 65.1% $385,000 41.3% $207 $244 ton Beach Hunting 92647 61 19.6% $375,000 25.0% $212 $241 ton Beach Hunting 92648 91 23.0% $428,000 -4.7% $245 $246 ton Beach Hunting 92649 59 5.4% $426,000 36.1% $261 $284 ton Beach Irvine 92602 102 537.5% $373,000 -12.4% n/a n/a Irvine 92604 53 29.3% $335,000 5.8% $222 $217 Irvine 92606 35 12.9% $405,000 37.3% $183 $196 Irvine 92612 45 -2.2% $390,000 0.5% $237 $234 Irvine 92614 59 31.1% $320,000 8.5% $230 $251 Irvine 92618 33 135.7% $275,000 48.6% $214 $194 Irvine 92620 61 -3.2% $385,000 23.0% $194 $215 La Habra 90631 98 19.5% $260,000 26.8% $173 $198
*--*
*--* % change Median % change ’01 Med ’02 Med Communi Zip Sales From ’01 Price from ’01 sq. ft sq. ft ty La Palma 90623 20 17.6% $394,000 19.4% $156 $187 Laguna 92651 62 34.8% $706,500 0.2% $478 $561 Beach Laguna 92653 142 89.3% $255,000 0.0% $211 $228 Hills * Laguna 92677 206 19.8% $404,000 13.2% $216 $236 Niguel Lake 92630 137 13.2% $340,000 38.8% $186 $205 Forest Los 90720 31 47.6% $449,000 16.0% $244 $274 Alamito s Mission 92691 94 3.3% $351,500 17.4% $192 $218 Viejo Mission 92692 126 6.8% $349,500 16.5% $199 $205 Viejo Newport 92657 38 137.5% $913,750 11.6% n/a n/a Beach Newport 92660 75 63.0% $730,000 13.8% $298 $363 Beach Newport 92661 13 333.3% $825,000 135.7% $145 $647 Beach Newport 92663 37 5.7% $520,000 21.8% $639 $503 Beach Orange 92865 31 34.8% $285,000 0.1% $177 $192 Orange 92866 13 -7.1% $358,000 28.7% $213 $269 Orange 92867 57 35.7% $351,000 9.1% $191 $215 Orange 92868 21 -12.5% $232,000 25.7% $153 $171 Orange 92869 70 18.6% $373,000 29.7% $177 $195 Placent 92870 100 26.6% $332,000 23.4% $173 $187 ia R. 92688 169 8.3% $298,000 8.0% $194 $206 Santa Margari ta S. Juan 92675 90 63.6% $395,000 26.6% $195 $222 Capistr ano San 92672 76 33.3% $430,000 11.7% $242 $280 Clement e San 92673 78 136.4% $449,500 2.4% $237 $264 Clement e Santa 92701 41 -2.4% $139,000 6.9% $185 $215 Ana Santa 92703 64 88.2% $217,591 13.9% $198 $222 Ana Santa 92704 81 17.4% $240,000 11.6% $180 $211 Ana Santa 92705 69 25.5% $450,000 15.7% $175 $234 Ana ** Santa 92706 46 64.3% $290,500 11.9% $194 $218 Ana Santa 92707 60 33.3% $224,500 24.7% $198 $228 Ana Seal 90740 27 107.7% $422,000 -6.0% $247 $270 Beach Stanton 90680 39 77.3% $200,000 22.3% $150 $172 Trabuco 92679 136 25.9% $480,000 2.7% $189 $208 /Coto Tustin 92780 66 11.9% $302,500 43.7% $173 $207 Tustin 92782 66 8.2% $377,500 22.6% $194 $200 Villa 92861 7 -22.2% $658,000 21.4% $195 $309 Park Westmin 92683 92 2.2% $320,500 24.2% $185 $209 ster Yorba 92886 97 40.6% $392,500 21.9% $196 $219 Linda Yorba 92887 54 -11.5% $475,000 9.2% $194 $216 Linda Others -- 257 -- -- -- -- --
Countyw 5,091 29.6% $346,000 16.5% $191 $219 ide*
*--*
* Includes Laguna Woods ** Includes Lemon/Cowan Heights n/a not available
Source: DataQuick Information Systems Inc.
