Countywide : Sales of Homes Drop in Quarter

The number of new homes sold in the Ventura County area declined in the third quarter despite a drop of more than $12,000 in the average selling price, according to a report released by a Burbank-based title company.

New home sales in the Ventura County area fell to 311 in the quarter, down from 360 in the previous quarter and off by two-thirds from first quarter of 1989, when Gateway Title Co. began issuing such reports.

The average selling price for new homes in the county and adjacent Westlake Village and Agoura Hills was $274,032 in the three months that ended Sept. 30, down from $285,301 the quarter before, the report noted.

The decline in price reversed the gains recorded in the second quarter and continued a slide that began in the last quarter of 1989, according to the report.

The prices of detached single-family houses and attached townhouse-type homes both dropped sharply in the quarter.

The average price of detached homes dropped to $308,545, a 7.8% decline from the second quarter’s average of $334,666, the report noted.

For attached homes, the average price fell to $190,412, an 11.2% decline from the $213,997 average price in the second quarter.

While the sale of more expensive detached homes remained fairly stable--off just three units from the previous quarter--sales of less-expensive attached homes fell sharply in the quarter, according to the report.

The stock of unsold new homes remained fairly stable at 694, according to the report.