Home Sales Up 41.2% Over Year Ago; Rise Highest This Decade

April home sales in Southern California soared more than 40% from year-ago levels as buyers took advantage of attractive prices and rushed to avoid a surge in mortgage rates, according to a sales report released Tuesday.

The year-to-year sales increase for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties was the highest in this decade, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based real estate information company.

Home prices, however, continued to sink in most areas, and industry analysts said the sales results looked particularly strong because the market last year at this time was weak because of stormy weather and higher home loan rates.

Still, April’s strong showing is the most recent in a string of promising monthly sales reports that are in line with the anticipated revival of Southern California’s long-depressed housing market.

Many housing analysts say the strong sales have bolstered their belief that housing prices in most parts of Southern California will rebound by the end of the year.

“We believe that this year is going to see a huge turnaround,” said Esmail Adibi, director of the Center for Economic Research at Chapman University. Adibi credits the growing number of jobs in the area for helping support the real estate market.

April sales of new and existing homes, including condominiums, in Southern California rose 41.2% from the same month last year to 19,728 properties, DataQuick said. “The uptick in interest rates seems to have pushed a lot of fence-sitters into the market,” said DataQuick Chief Executive Donald L. Cohn. “We expect strong sales activity to continue well into the summer season, although the increases probably won’t stay this strong.”

The median sale price of a Southern California home in April fell slightly from last year’s level by 0.6% to $160,000, according to DataQuick. Counties reporting declines included Los Angeles, $161,000, down 1.8%; Orange, $192,000, off 1.5%; and San Bernardino, $117,000, down 2.5%. Meanwhile, prices rose by 2.5% to $167,000 in San Diego, by 1.6% to $190,000 in Ventura and by 1.6% to $129,000 in Riverside.

The April results fall in line with the comments by real estate agents across Southern California, who report strong sales along with prices that, at worst, are not falling as sharply as they have in recent years.

Stan Richman, manager of the Prudential Jon Douglas Beverly Hills office, said his agents sold 16 homes at prices exceeding $1 million during the last 2 1/2 months in the area of Beverly Hills south of Sunset Boulevard. “We are getting multiple offers on anything that is priced well,” Richman said. “What we are [seeing] is price stabilization and confidence in Los Angeles.”

Bruce Leinbach, a Century 21 broker in West Covina, said sales activity has remained high despite the rise in home loan rates since February. Still, he said the sale of foreclosed properties continues to drag down prices and a lack of equity has prevented many homeowners from trading up to more expensive housing.

Since the start of the year, Mission Viejo real estate agent Joan Wilson has sold 30 homes--about as many as she sold during all of last year. “This is my best year,” Wilson said.

However, Wilson remains disappointed with prices and fears values might fall further if a flood of homeowners put their properties on the market after hearing of the strong sales. “I don’t think you will see any price increases until the year 2000,” Wilson said.

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Southland Home Sales, Prices

Home sales in the six-county* Southern California region jumped in April, although prices remained flat.

HOME SALES

In thousands:

April 1996: 19.7

MEDIAN PRICE

In thousands:

April 1996: $160

* Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura.

Source: DataQuick Information Systems