No end of high housing prices in sight

Alicia Robinson

Continuing the trend of the last several months, February median home

prices in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa increased at a faster rate

than it did in the state as a whole.

The median price for a single-family home in Costa Mesa in

February was $592,000, which was 24% higher than in February 2003,

according to data from the Orange Coast Assn. of Realtors. In Newport

Beach, the median home price in February was $1.5 million, an

increase of 46% from the same month last year.

“Generally speaking, the low inventory levels have created supply

and demand scenarios that have allowed prices to increase,” said Bob

Chapman, Orange County general manager for Prudential California

Realty.

Across the state, the median price for a single family home was

$394,300 in February, a 20.7% increase since the same month in the

previous year, the California Assn. of Realtors reported Thursday.

February home sales picked up a bit in Newport Beach but were

slower in Costa Mesa when compared with February 2003, while

statewide sales increased 3.9% in the same year-to-year comparison.

Local real estate agents said inventory is increasing gradually

and is expected to pick up in the next few months, though low

interest rates are continuing to drive prices up.

“With interest rates dropping so low, it really brought a lot of

buyers to the plate,” said Lori Robnett, Costa Mesa real estate agent

for First Team Real Estate. “There’s just no inventory for them to

buy.”