Home Sales in O.C. Rise 33%, Hitting 9-Year High

Spurred by rising income and lower interest rates, home buyers pushed Orange County housing sales to their highest level in nine years last month.

The 33% surge in sales, to 4,589 units in April, means the region’s real estate recovery has reached full throttle, analysts said, with every segment of the market showing significant growth.

Home resales, which accounted for 70% of all transactions in Orange County, cracked the 3,000 mark for the first time since September 1988, according to Acxiom/DataQuick Information Services. That’s 36% higher than year-ago levels.

Condo resales jumped 54% from a year ago, to 1,044.

Prices did not match the sales growth, however, with the median price in Orange County falling to $220,000 in April from $221,000 in March. New homes, which carry a higher price tag, accounted for a smaller percentage of total sales.

But the sales surge in Orange County--which usually leads Southern California in sales and price trends--bodes well for the thousands of Southland homeowners who bought at the peak of the last real estate cycle.

Home values in many parts of the region fell 15%--in some cases more--during the recession of the early 1990s. But prices are expected to return to or surpass pre-recession levels sometime this summer, a trend already underway in several Bay Area counties.

Sales have also hit record highs nationally. The combined value of home mortgages is on track to top $1.1 trillion this year, the highest level ever.