BOOMERS MOVING ON UP HOME SALES REACH RECORD PACE.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

The boomer generation cashed in its equity this year, accounting for 74 percent of California home sales with nearly half moving to bigger digs, said a survey released Thursday.

The third ``Survey of California Sellers'' also found them tech-savvy with Internet use quadrupling as boomers drove the market at a record pace, said the California Association of Realtors.

Boomers will throw their collective weight around for a while, too.

``Because of its size and current life cycle, the boomer generation is likely to play a significant role in the housing market over the next several years,'' said association President Jim Hamilton.

Most sellers sold to buy a larger home or one in a different location, but pricing and financing also played a role in the decision, he said.

The typical California home seller in 2004 was married, 47 years old, earned nearly $135,000 annually and had sold at least once before.

This year, 47 percent of sellers used the Internet as part of their marketing process, up from 12 percent in 2003.

That's an astonishing jump, said Robert Kleinhenz, the association's deputy chief economist, since Internet use by buyers gradually increased, reaching 56 percent in a survey released earlier this year.

``There has been a real sea change in use of the Internet by all income and age groups,'' he said.

Just over half of all sellers in 2004 fell between the ages of 45 and 54 years, while an additional one-third fell between 35 and 44 years of age.

There is no indication that downsizing is occurring to any significant degree because boomers tended to start families later in life.

The survey also found that:

--Most sellers did not go far. In Southern California, 94 percent stayed in their original county. In the Bay Area, 99 percent remained close to their original home, and the state average was 88 percent.

Five percent left the state.

--A shift in market mix occurred. This year, 76 percent of sellers owned single-family homes, down from 90 percent in 2003. But sales of condos and town homes increased to 24 percent this year from 10 percent in 2003.

--Twenty-nine percent of sellers said they had sold their home because of investment or tax advantages.

--Twenty-four percent of sellers moved because of a change in family status.

--About 40 percent of sellers said low interest rates were an important decision driver because they enabled them to either acquire a larger home or move to a preferred neighborhood.

--Just over one-quarter were motivated to sell because they expected mortgage rates to increase in the future.

John Karevoll, an analyst at DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate market tracker, said the results are not that surprising, because this age group historically has driven the market.

``We've got a lot of people there in a demographic cluster right now. It's just part of a normal pattern,'' he said.

And studies in the past have shown that sellers don't stray more than 10 miles from their old home.

``They either move up, down or sideways for one reason or another,'' he said.

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com