Oct 24, 2008 3:55 pm US/Pacific
County Home Sales Jump 83 Percent As Prices Fall
LOS ANGELES
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Statewide, home sales increased 96.7 percent in September compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.9 percent to $316,480, CAR reported.
AP
Home sales jumped 82.9 percent in the Los Angeles area in September, compared with the same period a year ago, while the median home price fell 35.3 percent to $376,790, according to figures released Friday.
In Orange County, home sales increased by 78 percent in September compared with the same month last year, and the median price fell 27.9 percent to $498,640, according to the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors.
Statewide, home sales increased 96.7 percent in September compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.9 percent to $316,480, CAR reported.
"This dramatic increase in sales owes as much to market weakness a year ago in the early stages of the credit crunch, as it does to the growth of sales in September this year," said CAR President William E. Brown. "Similar increases occurred in the early 1980s when the market was climbing out of a comparatively steep downturn in sales.
"We expect the market to register significant year-to-year percentage
gains in the coming months as current sales are compared against extremely low numbers that prevailed during the fourth quarter of last year," he said.
The California cities and communities with the highest median home prices during September were:
-- Los Gatos, $1,200,000;
-- Newport Beach, $1,172,000;
-- Cupertino, $915,000;
-- Danville, $905,000;
-- Santa Barbara, $900,000;
-- Santa Monica, $863,000;
-- Redwood City, $805,000;
-- San Ramon, $750,000;
-- Pleasanton, $737,000; and
-- Redondo Beach, $720,000.
The cities and communities with the greatest median home price increases in September compared with the same period a year ago were:
-- Culver City, 15.5 percent;
-- Truckee, 7.6 percent;
-- South Lake Tahoe, 6.5 percent;
-- Redwood City, 6.3 percent;
-- Berkeley 5.4 percent;
-- Santa Monica, 1.6 percent;
-- Pleasanton, 1.4 percent;
-- Fountain Valley, 0.4 percent; and
-- Walnut Creek 0.3 percent.
CAR describes itself as "one of the largest state trade organizations" in the country, with more than 200,000 members.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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