Southland Home Sales, Prices Keep Rising to Record Levels
The race to buy homes in Southern California intensified last month, again raising prices and spurring sales to record levels across a large swath of the region while paving the way for further increases in months to come.
In Los Angeles County, the median price for a home rose 18% from a year earlier to an all-time high of $254,000, according to figures released Wednesday by DataQuick Information Systems Inc., a La Jolla real estate research firm.
It marked the fifth consecutive month that county prices set a record, the longest streak since the last housing boom more than a decade ago.
Sales in Los Angeles County leaped more than 26% from the same time last year to 11,268, making it the busiest April since 1989. The percentage gain was slightly higher than analysts expected.
Across the board--from condominiums to estates--prices marched upward in April. That is a change from previous months, when entry-level homes were gaining fastest. The boost means that transactions in Los Angeles and Orange County, which also reported robust results last month, continue to close at a summer-like pace.
“The sales numbers are not quite as high as they are in August, but they are far stronger than what we’re used to seeing in April,” said John Karevoll, the DataQuick analyst who compiled the figures.
Activity in both counties is being inflated by the same factors: Low mortgage rates and a sluggish stock market are attracting buyers when the supply of unsold homes is severely limited. The result is upward pressure on prices.
The supply of unsold Los Angeles County homes is about two months.
In Orange County, it’s barely over a month, according to the California Assn. of Realtors. An inventory of nine to 10 months is required for balance.
Buyers’ anxiety grows as the market churns faster, leading to multiple offers for homes. As inventory shrinks, the purchase of a lifetime for some buyers is being decided in hours, not days.
Gina Chavez, 33, and husband James offered to buy a house in south Orange County within hours of its landing on the market.
They handed their proposal to the sellers while another interested buyer toured the home. The couple stretched to bid $736,000, or $3,000 less than the asking price.
The owner, who sought a quick sale because of a job transfer, accepted. Their proposal beat out higher offers that came later.
A slower reaction would have left them empty-handed.
“We wouldn’t have gotten the house,” Chavez said.
Double-digit price increases cannot be sustained indefinitely, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist of the California Assn. of Realtors, but relief doesn’t appear near.
“What you’re seeing is what happens when vigorous demand meets limited supply,” Appleton-Young said.
She added that a report of price and sales trends her group compiles shows a similar pattern to DataQuick’s figures. “The only thing stifling the market right now is the paucity of listings.”
Virtually every analyst agrees that the market must eventually cool. Many predict a slower rate of growth, if mortgage rates climb enough to curb demand or affordability levels drop enough to price more people out of the market.
Yet the key indicators that would indicate a slowdown have not materialized, Karevoll said.
The rate of foreclosures in both counties remains near record lows. The number of buyers using adjustable-rate mortgages remains stable.
The size of down payments has barely budged. Lenders don’t consider mortgage payments out of line with incomes.
“We can have these trends continue into next year,” Karevoll said of robust price and sales gains.
In Orange County, median prices, meaning half cost less and half cost more, grew more than 16% to a record $337,000. Sales also increased nearly 32% to 4,925. That is the best sales mark for any April since figures from 1989, Karevoll said.
A combination of job growth, rising disposable incomes and low mortgage rates is helping the Southern California market outpace the rest of the state, said Esmael Adibi, an economist at Chapman University in Orange.
“I’m surprised,” said Adibi, who expected home prices to rise at a single-digit pace this year. “People think prices will go higher, and they are actively pursuing real estate. And given the tight supply, that leads to such rapid price appreciation.”
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Orange County Home Sales
Home prices rose last month to a record $337,000, or more than 16%, from a year earlier. Sales also grew nearly 32% to 4,925, the highest number on record for any April since figures began being kept in 1989. 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 169 17.4% $312,000 2.3% $194 $195 Viejo Anaheim 92801 42 40.0% $239,000 24.3% $174 $190 Anaheim 92802 34 -10.5% $271,500 23.4% $153 $196 Anaheim 92804 78 23.8% $260,500 15.8% $172 $188 Anaheim 92805 44 12.8% $245,000 14.5% $165 $192 Anaheim 92806 21 -30.0% $293,000 16.5% $154 $179 Anaheim 92807 70 6.1% $367,000 27.1% $170 $187 Anaheim 92808 42 -25.0% $265,000 2.7% $188 $210 Brea 92821 53 29.3% $320,000 13.5% $172 $200 Buena 90620 54 54.3% $262,500 14.6% $190 $208 Park Buena 90621 45 60.7% $255,000 29.6% $145 $185 Park Corona 92625 36 50.0% $850,000 -7.4% $359 $411 del Mar Costa 92626 49 36.1% $358,000 14.0% $207 $222 Mesa Costa 92627 67 34.0% $338,000 19.3% $255 $281 Mesa Cypress 90630 60 20.0% $305,000 13.6% $176 $198 Dana 92624 14 180.0% $443,000 21.4% $221 $375 Point Dana 92629 78 69.6% $447,500 -0.6% $273 $258 Point Foothil 92610 47 88.0% $300,000 2.6% $166 $170 l Ranch Fountai 92708 78 47.2% $385,000 18.5% $192 $203 n Valley Fullert 92831 28 -3.4% $317,500 17.6% $186 $223 on Fullert 92832 19 18.8% $245,000 4.3% $179 $208 on Fullert 92833 61 15.1% $296,000 26.2% $178 $204 on Fullert 92835 42 75.0% $397,500 20.1% $161 $210 on Garden 92840 67 76.3% $263,000 20.9% $162 $205 Grove Garden 92841 37 60.9% $271,100 20.5% $173 $198 Grove Garden 92843 48 54.8% $241,000 21.1% $183 $199 Grove Garden 92844 29 3.6% $243,000 21.7% $175 $216 Grove Garden 92845 27 22.7% $314,000 19.2% $196 $249 Grove Hunting 92646 101 62.9% $359,000 21.7% $215 $227 ton Beach Hunting 92647 55 25.0% $355,000 12.3% $226 $256 ton Beach Hunting 92648 88 23.9% $437,000 12.3% $228 $228 ton Beach Hunting 92649 74 57.4% $432,750 48.5% $239 $295 ton Beach Irvine 92602 73 58.7% $370,500 -12.9% n/a n/a Irvine 92604 48 23.1% $330,500 4.3% $207 $223 Irvine 92606 36 56.5% $368,750 6.5% $208 $215 Irvine 92612 61 24.5% $370,000 17.5% $232 $239 Irvine 92614 67 52.3% $324,000 12.2% $219 $244 Irvine 92618 33 -31.3% $295,000 -13.4% $212 $234 Irvine 92620 60 36.4% $383,000 36.1% $202 $219 La Habra 90631 74 34.5% $255,250 12.9% $170 $195
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*--* % change Med % change ’01 Med ’02 Med ian Community Zip Sales From ’01 Pri from ’01 sq. ft sq. ft ce La Palma 90623 21 0.0% $35 7.7% $169 $186 0,0 00 Laguna Beach 92651 64 48.8% $70 15.6% $315 $381 5,0 00 Laguna 92653 120 48.1% $23 7.6% $190 $221 Hills * 4,5 00 Laguna 92677 182 17.4% $37 4.0% $226 $222 Niguel 9,0 00 Lake Forest 92630 129 11.2% $28 7.8% $179 $205 3,0 00 Los Alamitos 90720 26 62.5% $46 31.4% $256 $250 7,7 50 Mission 92691 101 32.9% $34 13.5% $201 $204 Viejo 0,0 00 Mission 92692 129 29.0% $36 16.7% $186 $204 Viejo 7,5 00 Newport 92657 38 153.3% $85 -0.8% n/a $297 Beach 0,0 00 Newport 92660 70 48.9% $76 4.9% $308 $301 Beach 5,0 00 Newport 92661 2 -33.3% $1, 100.5% $367 $380 Beach 433 ,75 0 Newport 92663 47 34.3% $56 18.6% $329 $383 Beach 0,0 00 Orange 92865 26 36.8% $25 -2.8% $185 $194 6,5 00 Orange 92866 16 33.3% $31 19.0% $229 $256 6,2 50 Orange 92867 43 -21.8% $39 18.2% $185 $194 0,0 00 Orange 92868 23 35.3% $24 24.2% $160 $188 6,0 00 Orange 92869 75 5.6% $32 31.3% $182 $192 5,0 00 Placentia 92870 107 59.7% $32 32.0% $155 $186 2,0 00 R. Santa 92688 174 16.0% $27 2.1% $195 $205 Margarita 9,5 00 S. Juan 92675 69 16.9% $39 20.2% $187 $219 Capistrano 0,5 00 San Clemente 92672 73 19.7% $38 1.3% $227 $257 9,0 00 San Clemente 92673 65 85.7% $48 10.4% $204 $245 5,0 00 Santa Ana 92701 37 12.1% $16 32.5% $176 $194 3,0 00 Santa Ana 92703 45 28.6% $22 25.2% $158 $201 6,0 00 Santa Ana 92704 66 6.5% $22 10.2% $184 $198 7,5 00 Santa Ana ** 92705 53 6.0% $51 27.5% $187 $218 0,0 00 Santa Ana 92706 39 44.4% $30 7.1% $187 $212 0,0 00 Santa Ana 92707 59 -3.3% $20 5.2% $192 $225 7,0 00 Seal Beach 90740 16 -11.1% $50 23.0% $235 $324 5,0 00 Stanton 90680 38 22.6% $20 25.9% $151 $172 2,0 00 Trabuco/Coto 92679 125 37.4% $51 14.2% $184 $206 5,5 00 Tustin 92780 58 3.6% $22 -7.5% $165 $192 2,0 00 Tustin 92782 81 72.3% $34 25.2% $178 $217 8,0 00 Villa Park 92861 12 100.0% $75 21.6% $207 $221 6,0 00 Westminster 92683 111 37.0% $29 22.4% $170 $203 0,0 00 Yorba Linda 92886 74 48.0% $41 23.4% $196 $203 2,0 00 Yorba Linda 92887 45 55.2% $47 12.4% $200 $216 0,0 00 Others -- 257 -- -- -- --
Countywide* 4,925 31.7% $33 16.2% $188 $213 7,0 00
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Includes Laguna Woods
** Includes Lemon/Cowan Heights
n/a: Not available
Source: DataQuick Information Systems Inc.
