Home Sales Surge
April 22, 2002
Southern California Home Sales Jump 34%
Inman News Features
Southern California home sales last month reached levels normally seen only during summer months and home prices rose to new peaks, according to DataQuick Information Services.
A total of 30,146 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, up 34.1 percent from 22,484 in the previous month and up 15.9 percent from 26,010 in March last year, according to DataQuick.
An increase from February to March is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the highest since 32,386 homes were sold in August and was the highest for any March since 1989 when 31,693 homes were sold, according to DataQuick.
"Last month's sales count would have been much higher if all the people who wanted to buy homes, had found homes to buy. Right now there just aren't enough on the market. This sets the stage for continued price increases," said DataQuick President Mike Ela.
The median price paid for a Southland home was $257,000 last month, a new record, up 4.5 percent from $246,000 in February and up 12.7 percent from $228,000 in March last year. The median price reached a new record for all counties except San Bernardino, which absorbed much of the region's surge in entry-level home buying. When adjusted for the shift in market mix, San Bernardino County's appreciation rate is about the same as the other Southern California counties, according to DataQuick.
DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.
Copyright: Inman News Service
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