So You Think You Know Real Estate?

All right, you real estate know-it-alls, here’s your chance. Try this quiz, and let’s see just how smart you are. The facts and figures were compiled by staff writer David M. Kinchen and copy editor Lisa Fung from a variety of sources. For the answers, please see K10.

1. What is the average age of the California home shopper? a. 27 b. 33 c. 37 d. 41

2. What is the median household income of all shoppers? a. $56,820 b. $78,460 c. $83,150 d. $105,750

3. Which style of house is referred by most buyers? a. two story b. single level c. split-level

4. What percentage of the state’s households could afford the state’s $193,557 median-priced existing house in October, 1989? a. 7% b. 19% c. 35% d. 67%

5. What area will be the top remodeling market in the nation this year? a. Los Angeles/Long Beach b. Washington, D.C. c. New York City d. Philadelphia

6. How many California real estate licenses were revoked in 1989? a. 98 b. 117 c. 239 d. 191

7. How much lumber would be used in a typical 1,800-square-foot, single-story tract house, built on a slab, with a two-car attached garage? a. 7,600 board feet b. 9,800 board feet c. 11,300 board feet d. 16,500 board feet

8. How many pounds of nails would be required in the same house? a. 75 pounds b. 100 pounds c. 175 pounds d. 250 pounds

9. Which California market is not among the three that will head the Top 10 home building markets in the nation this year? a. San Francisco b. Los Angeles/Long Beach c. Riverside/San Bernardino d. San Diego

10. Construction is California’s biggest goods-producing industry, in terms of employees and dollar volume. What was 1989’s dollar volume? a. $750 million b. $5.6 billion c. $14 billion d. $46.3 billion

11. How many workers were employed in California’s construction industry in 1989? a. 272,000 b. 391,000 c. 658,000 d. 952,000

12. How many jobs did California’s construction industry generate in 1988? a. 0.9 million b. 1.7 million c. 2.9 million d. 4.3 million

13. What percentage of new home buyers were first-time buyers in 1989? a. 6% b. 12% c. 21% d. 35%

14. What was the average square footage most home buyers said they wanted? a. 1,621 b. 1,873 c. 2,453 d. 3,000

15. How many single-family homes were sold in California in 1989? a. 235,000 b. 410,000 c. 540,000 d. 629,000

16. How many cities in California have rent control ordinances for all rental units? a. 15 b. 25 c. 37 d. 45

17. What percentage of homes in California carry earthquake insurance? a. 20% b. 33% c. 50% d. 70%

18. How much would an 8-by-12-foot, $8,440-room addition add to the value of a typical 1,500-square-foot ranch house in Granada Hills? a. $10,450 b. $12,500 c. $15,000 d. $16,880

19. How many licensed contractors are there in California? a. 116,301 b. 138,290 c. 141,076 d. 198,655

20. Which market had the greatest price appreciation (23.1%) during the third quarter of 1988 to the third quarter of 1989? a. Seattle/Tacoma b. Honolulu c. Los Angeles d. San Francisco

21. Which real estate firm doing business in California handled the most transactions in 1987? a. Coldwell Banker b. RE/MAX International c. Century 21 d. Realty World

22. How many licensed real estate salespeople and brokers are there in California? a. 115,759 b. 243,891 c. 332,780 d. 455,682

23. What was Los Angeles’ nationwide ranking in total office space leased in 1989? a. first b. second c. third d. fourth

24. How many conventional mortgage loans were made in Los Angeles County in 1989? a. 118,862 b. 134,992 c. 167,423 d. 213,978

25. How many housing units (houses, condominiums, apartments and mobile homes) are there in California? a. 3.51 million b. 5.47 million c. 7.26 million d. 10.96 million

26. Of the 550,000 existing homes sold in California in 1988, how many were inspected by a professional home inspector? a. 120,000 b. 165,000 c. 225,000 d. 485,000

27. How many existing-home transactions in California included a home warranty policy? a. 11% b. 26% c. 45% d. 71%

28. How many termite inspection companies are registered with the state? a. 1,023 b. 1,411 c. 1,782 d. 2,006

29. How much was spent on residential additions and alterations in California in 1989? a. $1.95 million b. $45.5 million c. $1.01 billion d. $2.97 billion

30. How many FHA/VA loans were issued in California in 1989? a. 51,021 b. 63,980 c. 72,993 d. 81,559

31. How many real estate licensing schools are there in California? a. 89 b. 138 c. 279 d. 345

32. How many local realty boards are there in California? a. 112 b. 180 c. 197 d. 210

33. What is the largest realty board in California, with 9,847 members? a. Los Angeles Board of Realtors b. Sacramento Board of Realtors c. San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors d. Conejo Valley Board of Realtors

34. What is the smallest realty board in the state, with 11 members? a. Siskiyou Board of Realtors, Yreka b. Twentynine Palms Board of Realtors, Twentynine Palms c. Glenn-Colusa Board of Realtors, Orland d. Barstow Board of Realtors, Barstow

35. Which Southland firm was the biggest home builder in 1989, with $638.2 million in sales on 3,594 houses built? a. Watt Industries b. Wm. Lyon Co. c. Kaufman & Broad d. Casden/CoastFed

36. How many new housing starts are expected in California in 1990? a. 175,000 b. 204,000 c. 314,000 d. 365,000

37. What percentage of housing units in Los Angeles County are single-family detached homes? a. 56% b. 75.6% c. 49.3% d. 39.8%

38. How many housing units (homes, condominiums and apartments) are there in the seven Southland counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura? a. 3,946,195 b. 4,652,375 c. 6,227,058 d. 7,919,362

39. Which commercial broker handled the largest amount of property in 1989 based on dollar value? a. Cushman & Wakefield b. Grubb & Ellis c. Coldwell Banker d. Beitler Commercial

40. How much commercial office space was leased in Los Angeles in 1989? a. 2,987,655 square feet b. 7,278,988 square feet c. 16,948,059 square feet d. 23,455,912 square feet

ANSWERS

1. c 2. a 3. a 4. b 5. a 6. c 7. d 8. d 9. a 10. d 11. c 12. b 13. c 14. b 15. c 16. a 17. a 18. b 19. c 20. d 21. c 22. c 23. c 24. a 25. d 26. b 27. c 28. b 29. d 30. c 31. b 32. b 33. c 34. c 35. b 36. b 37. c 38. c 39. c 40. c

SOURCES OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN QUIZ

California Assn. of Realtors; Department of Real Estate; Cahners Economics; James A. Dieckmeyer, Remodelors Council, National Assn. of Home Builders; Construction Industry Research Board, Burbank; Great Western Financial Corp.; California Assn. of Realtors; California Apartment Assn.; Western Insurance Information Service; Qualified Remodeler; Contractors’ State License Board; National Assn. of Realtors; Roulac Real Estate Consulting Group, San Francisco; Julien J. Studley Inc.; Dataquick Information Systems; Coldwell Banker/Torto Wheaton Services; Kenneth Leventhal & Co.; CREIA; Home Warranty Assn. of California; Structural Pest Control Board; U.S. Bureau of Census; National Assn. of Home Builders; Mike Mechill, chairman, Remodelors Council of California Building Industry Assn.; Los Angeles Times’ 18th Annual Survey of Residential Construction; California Department of Finance; Real Estate Research Council of Southern California; 1990 Book of Lists; Los Angeles Business Journal.