by Calculated Risk on 3/14/2007 04:41:00 PM

From DataQuick: Southland home sales slowest in a decade; new price peak Southern California's housing market sent out more mixed signals last month:

Sales fell to a decade low while prices inched up to a new record, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 17,680 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in February. That was down 2.5 percent from 18,128 in January, and down 19.8 percent from 22,046 in February last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales were the lowest for any February since 1997, when 15,772 homes sold. Since 1988 February sales have averaged 18,631. A decline in transactions from January to February is not unusual.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was a record $495,000 last month, up 2.1 percent from $485,000 in January and up 5.3 percent from $470,000 in February last year. The previous record was $490,000, reached in both June and December of last year.