Home values continue to climb

Paul Clinton

Although home sales dropped radically in January, median home values

in the area continued to rise steeply, with Newport Beach homes

selling among the state’s priciest cities.

In the California Assn. of Realtors’ January median-price report,

Newport Beach again placed among the state’s top 10 for sale prices.

Orange County’s ritziest city placed No. 4, with $755,000, statewide.

Manhattan Beach, at $918,500, placed at the top of the list in

mid-point value homes sold during the month.

Palos Verdes Estates, at $910,000, and Beverly Hills, at $865,000,

also came in above Newport Beach. Calabasas, at $750,000, rounded out

the top five.

Costa Mesa, at $387,000, didn’t place among the top 10, which also

included Malibu, Rancho Palos Verdes, Danville, Redwood City and

Indian Wells.

Still, according to the report, both cities saw solid growth, at

least among mid-point value homes. Newport Beach’s mid-level home

value grew 19.84%, from $630,000 in January of 2002. In Costa Mesa,

the mid-way home rose 17.63% in value from $329,000 a year ago.

“The robust momentum we witnessed in the California housing market

throughout 2002 continued in January,” said Toby Bradley, the

president of the group. “The median price of a home has increased by

double digits for the last 14 months and shows no signs of

abatement.”

Statewide, mid-level home sales grew an average of 17.3%, even

though sales rose only 0.1% during the month compared to a year ago.

Typically, January and February are slow months for the real estate

industry.

When compared to December, the number of January sales in Orange

County fell 21.6%. In the price arena, the county saw a 1.6% rise.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

paul.clinton@latimes.com.