by Calculated Risk on 5/16/2006 02:45:00 PM

Dataquick reports: Southland home sales at five-year low, single-digit appreciation

Home sales in Southern California decelerated in April to their slowest pace since 2001, the result of higher mortgage interest rates and less buyer urgency. Prices rose at a single-digit appreciation rate for the first time in more than four years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 24,748 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in April. That was down 16.1 percent from 29,509 in March and down 21.3 percent from 31,431 in April last year.

The year-over-year sales decline was the steepest since April 1995, when home purchases slowed 24.0 percent. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any April since 24,120 homes were sold in April 2001. DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988, show an average April for the nineteen years saw 23,660 sales.

"March and April have shown us that the boom phase of this cycle is behind us, so now it's just a question of how the cycle ends. Right now it looks like changes in the real estate market are happening gradually. But there's a lot of uncertainty among analysts regarding the effect of higher interest rates and how fast the economy is generating demand in regional markets," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.
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Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Financing with adjustable-rate mortgages has declined in recent months. Foreclosure activity is edging up from its bottom, but is still low. Down payment sizes are stable, as are flipping rates and non-owner occupied buying activity, DataQuick reported.

UPDATE: For Orange County (from the Register): $628,000: April home prices set new record

Orange County home prices set a new record high – $628,000 – in April, however, sales activity hit an 11-year low.

DataQuick said today that the median selling price rose $5,000 from the old peak of $623,000 set in March.

But just 3,276 homes sold last month, down 28 percent from a year ago. That's the slowest April since 1995 and the sixth consecutive month that sales fell on a year-over-year basis.

Nationwide median prices fell in Q1, but so far Orange County and So. Cal prices are holding up.