December Home Sales in L.A. County Rise

Strong sales of mid-priced homes helped Los Angeles County’s housing market end the year with a punch as monthly sales reached their highest levels since summer.

Home sales, including condominiums and newly built houses, rose 11.3% in December from the same month the previous year, according to real estate information company Acxiom/DataQuick. In all, 9,781 homes sold last month, the most since July’s 11,196 total.

December “was strong, but not spectacular,” according to John Karevoll, an analyst for Acxiom/DataQuick who compiled the report.

Nonetheless, last month was the strongest December on record for the county since 1989, when 9,866 homes and condominiums sold. Ditto for the county’s sales for all of 1998, which rose 12.6% from the previous year to 106,755.

December’s median price, the figure at which half the homes sold for more and half for less--held steady from the previous month at $184,000, 5.1% higher than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the median price for all of 1998 rose 7.6% to $184,000, compared with the year before.

“Prices are coming back,” Karevoll said. “But they’re still not as strong as 1990 and 1991.”

While most segments of the housing market appear to be experiencing growth, according to Karevoll, mid-priced homes have been performing particularly well for several months now.

“The trend we’ve been watching all through the fall and holiday season is the mid-market in the San Fernando Valley and other residential areas, which is starting to perform at a high rate,” Karevoll said. “It was strong before and it’s strong now.”

Broken down by category for December, existing single-family homes rose 11.1%, condo resales increased 19.5% and new homes dipped 6.4% for year-over-year sales. Meanwhile, sales for all of 1998 showed a 12.5% rise in existing single-family homes, a 15.1% jump in condos and a 5.2% increase in new homes, compared with the previous year.