Existing Home Sales in State Rise in Month

Thanks to an unexpected surge in coastal areas, sales of existing single-family homes in California rebounded in January from December’s sharp drop.

Sales gained 5.1% from the previous month, the California Assn. of Realtors reported Monday. Sales in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas rose 4.6% and 5.5%, respectively. The median price of a home sold last month rose 0.9% to $213,753 in the Los Angeles area but fell 1.8% to $240,624 in Orange County.

The state’s housing market, once the hottest in the nation, cooled off significantly in late 1989, culminating in a 10.1% decline in December as many buyers backed away from the market because of high prices.

The realtors’ trade group said the rate of sales in January, which would equal sales of 518,353 homes on an annualized basis, increased because of unexpectedly strong sales in the coastal areas.

In recent months, the state’s inland regions near Riverside, San Bernardino and Sacramento posted the biggest increases in sales, but sales fell sharply in the inland areas last month.

“The sharp month-to-month sales decline in the state’s inland regions simply reflects a cooling from December’s exceptionally strong sales pace,” said Jim Antt, president of the association.

“We still anticipate the inland areas--particularly the Central Valley and Sacramento--to lead California this year in sales and price appreciation,” he said.

Statewide, the median price of an existing single-family home in January was $194,952, up 3.5% from $188,184 in December.