Home Sales Up 15% in County; Prices Also Rise

Ventura County home sales rose almost 15% in August over the same month a year ago in the midst of a market that analysts and real estate agents say is the most robust in years.

“It’s probably the strongest it has been since the beginning of this decade, ‘91-’92,” said John Karevoll, financial editor for Acxiom/DataQuick Information Systems. “August was the fourth month in a row when sales were above 1,000. That’s the first time that’s happened this decade in Ventura County.”

A total of 1,206 new and existing homes, including condominiums, were sold in the county last month, compared with 1,052 in the same month the year before. Last month’s figure is also the highest one-month sales total since June 1994, Karevoll said.

Prices also are climbing steadily, up 5% since August 1996. Median prices reached $208,000 in August, $10,000 more than the same month last year.

Karevoll attributes the continuing price increases not only to a general increase in values, but also to a surge in sales in the long-dormant high-end market, which suffered the most during the real estate crash earlier this decade.

Economic confidence and low mortgage rates have combined to produce the buoyant, broad-based real estate market, Karevoll said.

With 30-year fixed mortgages at about 7.4%, would-be home buyers are finding mortgage payments about 30% lower than they would have been five years ago on a comparable home, he said.

“It’s an excellent market,” said Randy Churchill, owner of Mason-Churchill Realty in Camarillo. “Our inventory is down. The number of transactions are up and our prices are definitely firming up and we’re beginning to see a slight rise.”

Jeff Comstock, president-elect with the Ventura County Coastal Assn. of Realtors, which has 1,100 members in Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura, said sellers of appropriately priced homes are seeing offers in a couple of weeks rather than a couple of months. He believes the market will remain healthy at least through early 1998.

“I think a lot of people are believing prices are starting to increase, and they don’t want the train going out of the station without them,” he said. “In western Ventura County, there’s still an adequate supply of properties under $160,000. . . . In the resale market, there’s very little inventory in that $180,000 to $230,000 range.”

Statistics bear out Comstock’s experience, Karevoll said.

“The biggest complaint out there now is that there are not enough homes on the market,” he said. “Real estate agents are crying out for listings. We expect prices to go up another notch this fall.”

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Ventura County House Sales

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Aug., 1996 Aug., 1997 Number Average Number Average City/ZIP Code of sales price of sales price CAMARILLO 93010 62 $202,000 88 $231,000 93012 48 $225,000 74 $201,000 FILLMORE 93015 13 $137,000 8 $158,000 MOORPARK 93021 77 $217,000 75 $272,000 OAK PARK 91301 37 $255,000 36 $246,000 OAK VIEW 93022 6 $163,000 12 $175,000 OJAI 93023 28 $181,000 28 $239,000 OXNARD 93030 60 $178,000 102 $180,000 93033 47 $125,000 42 $136,000 93035 42 $184,000 47 $194,000 PORT HUENEME 93041 31 $118,000 30 $117,000 SANTA PAULA 93060 13 $147,000 27 $143,000 SIMI VALLEY 93063 92 $184,000 81 $174,000 93065 122 $189,000 99 $220,000 THOUSAND OAKS 91320 64 $228,000 88 $234,000 91360 79 $204,000 95 $234,000 91361 32 $302,000 41 $290,000 91362 91 $268,000 97 $304,000 VENTURA 93001 17 $160,000 36 $163,000 93003 48 $163,000 61 $185,000 93004 43 $188,000 39 $188,000 COUNTYWIDE *1,052 $198,000 1,206 $208,000

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Source: Acxiom / DataQuick Information Systems