Home Sales Dip 23.1% in First 9 Months of ’89

Sales of new and resale homes slid 23.1% in Orange County through the first nine months of the year, compared with last year.

Last year’s sales were extraordinarily strong, so this year’s comparative slowdown signals a return to a more normal market, according to real estate experts.

Through September, 34,801 houses and condominiums were sold this year, TRW Real Estate Information Services said Thursday.

That was down from the 47,506 sold last year, when buyers jumped into the market for several reasons:

They feared that they might not be able to buy a home later because of rising prices.

Tax laws changed.

Some feared that a slow-growth initiative would curtail building.

There was an influx of foreign buyers.

Prices have risen so high in Southern California’s coastal counties--including Orange--that sales have dropped sharply this year, real estate officials said.

Through September, Los Angeles sales dropped 15.3%, San Diego’s 13.5%, TRW said.

By contrast, inland counties--where prices are still relatively cheaper--showed strong gains.

San Bernardino and Riverside county sales rose 13.8% through September.

The three coastal Southland counties together dropped 17.5%.

For September in Orange County, 4,095 housing units were sold, down 7.6% from August, when 4,431 were sold, and down 23.1% from September, 1988, when 5,328 were sold.

Prices have continued to rise, though not nearly so sharply as those last year.

The average housing unit in Orange County cost $261,079, up 3.6% from August’s $251,959 and up 12.8% from $231,510 in September, 1988.