Southland home sales start strong

Though likely to cool in the second half of 2003, the housing market so far continues to be the pillar of strength for the sluggish economy.

January home sales in Southern California posted their strongest showing for any January since 1989 and were up 3.4% from last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

However, the January total of 22,767 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month was down 22.8% from 29,485 in December.

A significant decline from December to January is normal for the season. The same is true of the median price.

The median Southland home price was $283,000 last month, down 2.1% from $289,000 for December, and up 19.9% from $236,000 for January last year.