Rates for Home Sales, Employment Stay Strong

VENTURA —  Ventura County’s economy will end the year on a high note--with reports that showed continued demand for local real estate and a low 5.8% unemployment rate for November.

Last month, 1,092 homes were sold in the county--up almost 16% from November 1997, according to a report by Acxiom/DataQuick Information systems.

The county’s median home price jumped more than 11% from November of last year to $230,000.

The figures include new and resale homes as well as condominiums.

“All the analysts I’ve spoken with agree that this is kind of like Nirvana. . . . The prices are good, the market is there, people are buying and people are selling,” said John Karevoll, an analyst at Acxiom/DataQuick.

The greatest activity in home sales occurred in west county communities, including Ventura, Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

Karevoll said he expects the market, which has rallied for most of the year, to continue posting gains in 1999, but cautioned that unseen factors could come into play and change the situation.

The county’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged from November 1997, according to figures released by the state’s Employment Development Department.

Since November of last year, the county’s wage and salary work force, which stands at about 270,500, has increased by 3.8% with the addition of about 9,500 nonfarm jobs.