by Calculated Risk on 1/18/2006 04:42:00 PM

The OC Register reports: $621,000: record price for O.C. homes

Orange County home prices finished the year at a new record high – $621,000.

DataQuick reported this morning that the median sales price for all local residences in December rose $5,000 from November's $616,000 to top the previous peak of $617,000 set in August.

Overall prices in O.C. are up 12.7 percent in a year. Condo prices had the strongest growth – up 17.9 percent in a year to $460,000. Detached homes rose 16.2 percent to $660,000. New-home prices, which include a recent surge in sales of apartments converted to condos, fell 8.8 percent to $702,000.

O.C. sales activity slowed to 3,826 for December – that's down 9.2 percent from a year ago and the slowest December for sales since 1996. For the year, Orange Countians bought 48,883 residences – up 2 percent from 2004.

O.C. trends mirror regional buying patterns. Southern California's median price in December was up 13 percent in a year to $479,000. Last month's sales volume was down 4.5 percent from December 2004.

The LA Times reports: SoCal Housing Market Cooled in 2005

Southern California's real estate market cooled in 2005 as the rate of appreciation slowed for the first time since 1999 and sales remained flat, according to a real estate report today.

The overall median price last year for the six-county region — spanning from San Diego to Ventura and east to San Bernardino — reached $460,000, up 16.5% on an annual basis. That is down from the 23% gain recorded in 2004, when Southern California was branded as one of the hottest housing markets in the country.

Starting in the second half of 2005, the Southland began to simmer down, as prices leveled off and the pace of sales waned and even declined at certain points.

The slowing trend continued last month, when sales fell 4.5% to 28,952, which was the fewest homes sold in any December since 2001, according to DataQuick Information Systems, the La Jolla-based research firm that compiles and analyzes property transactions.

And here is the DataQuick press release: Southland home sales down, lower appreciation

December home sales in Southern California fell to their lowest level in four years as price increases eased back another notch, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 28,952 new and resale homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 4.8 percent from 27,637 in November, and down 4.5 percent from 30,317 for December last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from November to December is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any December since 24,913 homes were sold in December 2001. The Inland Empire bucked the regional trend and posted sales increases last month, led in part by record-breaking sales of newly-built homes.

"The frenzied part of this real estate cycle is behind us and what we're seeing so far is a normalizing of the market. Mid-market and entry-level homes are selling well, the move-up and prestige markets are leveling off. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out between now and spring, " said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

San Diego was the weakest market in SoCal. As 2005 ended, price appreciation slowed and transaction volumes decreased.