O.C. Home Prices Still Climbing

Orange County home buyers paid more last month for every type of home--new, existing and condominium--than they ever have before, according to a report by a real estate research firm.

The median price--the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less--hit record highs of $376,000 for new homes, $267,250 for existing ones and $164,500 for condos, according to Acxiom/Dataquick Information Systems Inc. in La Jolla.

Higher prices, coupled with rising interest rates, drew potential home buyers into the market before costs moved beyond their reach, real estate agents said. But the pickings were slim in some areas.

First-time buyers searching for homes priced below $200,000, for instance, found little to choose from in the Anaheim area, said Pam Winton, a broker at Century 21 All-Pro in Anaheim.

“There’s not as much inventory out there to cover those buyers,� Winton said. “Prices aren’t going through the roof, but they are going up every month.�

January’s home prices marked the 32nd consecutive month in which prices surpassed year-earlier levels, Acxiom/Dataquick said. Last month, resale home prices surged 11.4% over the previous January, new home prices rose 8.7% and condominium prices grew 3.8%.

Moreover, the combined median price for new, existing and condo homes rose 9% from the previous January to $251,000. But because fewer high-priced new homes were sold last month, the combined median slipped from December’s record of $258,000. The overall median typically dips in January as fewer new homes sell during the early months of the year.

The number of homes sold fell 7% overall in January to 2,607, with the biggest drop, 11.6%, in existing--or resale--homes.

Meanwhile, the number of loan defaults grew last month compared to a year ago, marking the first year-to-year increase since mid-1996, said John Karevoll, an Acxiom/Dataquick analyst. There were 383 defaults last month, or 24 more than a year ago. But Karevoll said the totals had dropped so low that an increase was inevitable.

Analysts cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from January’s results, given the lower activity that took place during an off-season month.

In fact, analysts expect that strong job growth, high consumer confidence and moderate interest rates--all key drivers of demand--will push home values even higher.

“Prices will continue going up at an 8% to 10% level easily into this summer,� Karevoll said.

Last month, home prices per square foot, considered a key measure of the market’s performance, rose 12% over a year ago to a record $164, the Acxiom/Dataquick survey showed.

“It’s more of a seller’s market,� Winton said, pointing out that homes priced last year at about $180,000 now are often listed above $200,000.

The monthly mortgage payment also rose 31% last month for Orange County home buyers, Karevoll said. With 10% down on a median-priced home and a fixed 7.8% rate for a 30-year mortgage, a new homeowner is paying $1,683 a month, up from $1,284 a year earlier, Karevoll said.

Moreover, a new poll by Chicago Title Corp. found that, as in last year’s survey, it took buyers in Orange County more than 3 1/2 years to save for an average down payment, longer than any of the 20 metropolitan areas it surveyed.

When mortgage rates jumped last year, many people backed away from the market. But this time consumers have found that things are not getting any better, analysts said.

“Home buyers who were perhaps taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the end of last year are realizing now that prices will keep going up,� said David Chapman, an analyst at Haskell & White, a Newport Beach accounting firm.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ORANGE COUNTY HOME SALES

In January, the median home price reached $251,000, a 9% increase over the previous January median of $231,000. Sales, median price and median price per square foot of new and resale homes and condos, by ZIP Code.

*--*

1999 Sales Median price Jan. 2,804 $231,000 Feb. 3,002 $226,000 March 4,446 $232,000 April 4,658 $232,000 May 4,275 $241,000 June 5,129 $241,000 July 4,828 $238,000 Aug. 4,612 $241,000 Sept. 4,450 $245,000 Oct. 3,933 $244,000 Nov. 3,745 $247,000 Dec. 4,272 $258,000 2000Jan. 2,607 $251,000

*--*

*--*

January Trend 1995 $194,000 1996 $186,000 1997 $185,000 1998 $212,000 1999 $231,000 2000 $251,000

*--*

*--*

Condo Median Price 1999 Jan. 158,500 Feb. 150,000 Mar. 157,500 April 160,000 May 163,000 June 160,000 July 158,750 Aug. 162,500 Sept. 164,000 Oct. 159,750 Nov. 161,250 Dec. 159,000 2000Jan. 164,500

*--*