State’s Home Price Rise Outpaces Nation’s

With high-tech havens like Orange County and the San Francisco Bay Area leading the way, prices of California homes rose 6.9% last quarter, outpacing the nation for the first time in years, real estate experts reported Monday.

In addition, sales of existing single-family homes statewide rose by 13% during the July-September quarter from a year earlier, compared with a 5% increase nationally, the California Assn. of Realtors said.

G.U. Krueger, an economist for the state trade group, said California’s sales volume and housing price growth have not out-priced the nation’s since the late ‘80s.

“The Goldilocks economy, where everything is ‘just right,’ ” is being felt throughout the state, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the association.

In the west San Fernando Valley, for example, prices were up 5.8% year-to-year after years of declining sales and value.

“Mid-level homes are now benefiting from the price appreciation that was initiated by upscale properties,” said Appleton-Young.

In Orange County, the median price was up 7.9%, to $232,804, making it the nation’s third most expensive metropolitan region after Honolulu and the Bay Area.

In Los Angeles, the median price rose 2% to $175,009.

The median price is the point at which half the sales prices were higher and half lower. In California, it has been pulled artificially higher in recent months because sales of higher-priced homes have been the strongest segment of the market.

During the July-September quarter, the median resale price was up 10.1% at $300,635 in San Francisco.

And in Santa Clara County, with booming Silicon Valley leading the way, the median price was up a whopping 17.9% at $327,931--more than the $315,000 median in Honolulu, traditionally the most expensive U.S. housing market.

Among other housing markets in the state, Ventura County’s median price was up 10.9% at $226,188; San Diego’s was up 8.3% at $190,525; Riverside-San Bernardino’s median price was up 0.5% at $114,864; and Monterey’s was up 13.7% at $269,259.

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Southern California prices peaked in 1989 or 1990, depending on the specific area, and had been falling ever since. However, in the last two years, prices in most areas started going back up.

Orange County prices, for instance, have now returned to mid-1990s levels. Statewide, the $191,971 median price is back to the late 1994 levels, said John Karevoll, a statistician for the real estate data tracker Acxiom/DataQuick Information Services in Santa Ana.

Meanwhile, the red-hot San Francisco Bay Area has recouped all the price losses of the early-’90s recession.

“They’re hitting new heights there,” Karevoll said.

Home prices across the nation are rising much faster than inflation in general, even in many parts of the Northeast, which like California underwent a prolonged real estate recession, the National Organization of Realtors said Monday.

Nationally, the median price of existing homes increased by $6,000 to $126,500 in the third quarter. Of 136 areas surveyed by the national trade group, only 13 reported declines.

Following Honolulu, San Francisco and Orange County, among the metro areas with the highest median prices were New York ($212,500) and Boston ($204,400).

Associated Press was used in compiling this report.

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Home Resale Prices

Median resale prices (in thousands) for previously owned homes in 136 metropolitan areas in the United States from July through September, followed by the percentage change from the same period in 1996, based on a survey by the National Assn. of Realtors. NA indicates that figures are not available.*--*

Metropolitan Area Price Chg Akron, Ohio $109.7 8.8% Albany, N.Y. 105.1 2.4 Albuquerque, N.M. 128.4 3.3 Amarillo, Texas 80.9 9.5 Appleton, Wis. 88.5 3.0 Atlanta 110.2 8.4 Atlantic City, N.J. 105.4 0.9 Aurora, Ill. 140.6 0.6 Austin, Texas 117.7 10.9 Baltimore 120.8 4.7 Baton Rouge, La. 93.6 5.5 Beaumont, Texas 67.1 4.4 Bergen, N.J. 212.5 2.7 Biloxi, Miss. 81.5 0.5 Birmingham, Ala. 123.8 7.2 Boise, Idaho. 103.2 1.6 Boston 204.4 4.7 Bradenton, Fla. 105.1 10.2 Buffalo, N.Y. 81.0 0.4 Canton, Ohio 93.1 3.2 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 97.0 6.1 Champaign, Ill. 84.8 5.9 Charleston, S.C. 104.1 8.7 Charleston, W.Va. 87.7 3.2 Charlotte, N.C. 127.9 7.9 Chattanooga, Tenn. 93.9 6.1 Chicago 162.4 2.5 Cincinnati 113.7 7.8 Cleveland 119.4 4.7 Colorado Springs, Colo. 131.8 2.0 Columbia, S.C. 100.2 6.5 Columbus, Ohio 118.9 8.0 Corpus Christi, Texas 83.6 3.0 Dallas 114.2 9.2 Davenport, Ill. 71.7 3.3 Dayton, Ohio 98.6 0.4 Daytona Beach, Fla. 73.6 0.9 Denver 144.6 6.6 Des Moines 102.0 7.4 Detroit 122.5 8.1 El Paso 76.9 3.8 Eugene, Ore. 119.3 1.7 Fargo, N.D. 86.9 1.9 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 125.5 11.3 Fort Myers, Fla. 86.2 8.6 Fort Wayne, Ind. 86.5 7.1 Fort Worth 93.4 8.1 Gainesville, Fla. 100.2 3.8 Gary, Ind. 103.0 8.2 Grand Rapids, Mich. 93.8 6.8 Green Bay, Wis. 101.7 5.8 Greensboro, N.C. 118.4 4.7 Greenville, S.C. 116.2 5.2 Hartford, Conn. 141.0 3.8 Honolulu 315.0 6.0 Houston 93.1 6.8 Indianapolis 105.6 8.1 Jacksonville, Fla. 87.5 2.7 Kalamazoo, Mich. 100.9 14.5 Kansas City, Mo. 107.6 7.7 Knoxville, Tenn. 102.4 0.3 Lake County, Ill. 159.1 9.9 Lansing, Mich. 94.7 7.5 Las Vegas 125.4 4.5 Lexington, Ky. 102.7 4.9 Lincoln, Neb. 94.2 6.6 Little Rock, Ark. 85.9 1.4 Los Angeles 175.0 2.0 Louisville, Ky. 99.6 6.4 Madison, Wis. 127.8 3.5 Melbourne, Fla. 85.8 4.3 Memphis, Tenn. 105.5 11.2 Miami 119.1 4.1 Middlesex, N.J. 179.0 2.1 Milwaukee 128.1 4.7 Minneapolis 121.3 5.2 Mobile, Ala. 85.5 2.5 Monmouth, N.J. 152.7 3.1 Montgomery, Ala. 94.5 2.9 Nashville, Tenn. 119.0 5.0 Nassau, N.Y. 166.2 3.2 New Haven, Conn. 136.1 0.3 New Orleans 96.6 11.3 Newark, N.J. 198.1 NA New York 181.7 1.2 Norfolk, Va. 99.7 11.9 Ocala, Fla. 65.7 2.2 Oklahoma City 80.0 4.3 Omaha 94.0 4.0 Orange County 233.0 7.9 Orlando, Fla. 97.5 3.0 Pensacola, Fla. 92.5 4.8 Peoria, Ill. 83.0 5.3 Phoenix 115.5 7.0 Pittsburgh 88.3 2.0 Portland, Maine. 94.8 1.8 Portland, Ore. 155.4 7.5 Providence, R.I. 120.8 0.1 Raleigh, N.C. 154.9 6.8 Reno 143.5 3.2 Richland, Wash. 103.2 2.0 Richmond, Va. 114.9 5.1 Riverside 114.9 0.5 Rochester, N.Y. 88.1 0.3 Rockford, Ill. 89.4 0.2 Sacramento 119.3 2.2 Saginaw-Bay City, Mich. 72.8 10.3 St. Louis 99.8 7.5 Salt Lake City 131.0 6.4 San Antonio 87.3 2.0 San Diego 190.5 8.2 San Francisco 300.6 10.1 Sarasota, Fla. 119.7 6.8 Seattle 175.3 3.9 Shreveport, La. 82.7 6.0 Sioux Falls, S.D. 91.9 4.8 South Bend, Ind. 83.6 5.2 Spokane, Wash. 105.6 1.9 Springfield, Ill. 83.4 1.7 Springfield, Mass. 111.7 4.4 Springfield, Mo. 82.4 2.1 Syracuse, N.Y. 82.6 4.3 Tacoma, Wash. 134.2 7.6 Tallahassee, Fla. 115.3 8.8 Tampa, Fla. 86.6 3.0 Toledo, Ohio 89.2 6.2 Topeka, Kans. 78.6 1.8 Trenton, N.J. 146.4 2.2 Tucson 107.6 3.0 Tulsa, Okla. 87.1 5.2 Washington 169.5 2.4 Waterloo, Iowa 68.2 17.2 West Palm Beach, Fla. 137.8 6.8 Wichita, Kan. 86.0 5.7 Worcester, Mass. 134.9 0.4 Youngstown, Ohio 75.3 4.7

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Home Price Change

Median prices of single-family homes in the third quarter jumped nearly 8% in Orange County from prices for the same period last year. The gain surpassed the statewide increase but trailed some of the other hot housing markets. Third-quarter median prices and the percent change from 1996:

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Median price Change Santa Clara $327,931 17.2% Ventura 226,188 10.9 San Francisco Bay 300,635 10.1 San Diego 190,525 8.3 Orange County 232,804 7.8 Los Angeles 175,009 2.0 Riverside/San Bernardino 114,864 0.5 California 191,971 6.9 U.S. 125,600 5.0

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Source: California Assn. of Realtors