COUNTY HOME SALES JUMP 22%; 3RD QUARTER PRICES UP ALSO, TOPPING NATIONAL LEVELS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Ventura County posted a more than 22 percent increase in home sales in the third quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, sending prices higher and sparking the first bidding wars in years, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

Like many areas in the state, Ventura County's housing market surged well above the national average, in which sales were up 5.1 percent and median home prices increased 5 percent from a year ago, said California Association of Realtors officials.

``The Ventura County housing market is going to do very well into next year,'' said Leslie Appleton-Young, CAR's vice president of research and economics. ``There's a lot of start-up business activity going on and people are moving into Ventura County from Los Angeles.''

That has sent third-quarter median home prices up by 10.9 percent in Ventura County, compared to the same quarter last year, so a median home now costs $226,190 compared to $203,880 at this time last year.

Yet the buying frenzy continues.

Simi Valley Realtor Theresa Berenger says October has been a ``phenomenal'' month for home sales, even though it is traditionally the month when the market begins to slow for the holiday season.

``We've seen a definite rise in prices as well as (an increase) in multiple offers because of low inventory,'' she said. ``If a home is really priced well and aggressively, then people are outbidding (each other) on them.''

Berenger, president of the Simi Valley/Moorpark Association of Realtors, said that she suspects many home buyers want to take advantage of low interest rates, fearing they will go up in early 1998.

``I think there are a lot of buyers who have been sitting on the fence and waiting,'' she said. ``As the pricing of homes goes up, interest rates go up and soon they won't be able to buy that home - so they're making their moves now.''

Ed Harpe, owner of Property Management Realty in Thousand Oaks, said housing sales in the Conejo Valley started to pick up pace this summer after getting off to a slow start earlier in the year.

That trend has accelerated in the past three months, he said.

``High-end sales in the $800,000-plus (range) are up and our medium-priced ($250,000) homes in the last quarter have started to kick up as well,'' he said.

Whether locally or nationally, increased home sales are largely attributed to a strong economy, Appleton-Young said.

California as a whole saw home sales increase 13 percent and the median home price rose nearly 7 percent annually during the third quarter of 1997.

In Ventura County, consumer confidence is at its highest level since 1990, according to the Association of Realtors. Foreclosures are leveling off, leading home prices to rise and the supply of homes to drop to its lowest point in at least seven years.

As of August, there was about a five-month supply of existing homes in all price categories up to the $500,000 range, the association reported.

But median home prices varied widely in Ventura County regions.

In August, the median home in Simi Valley cost $172,000, compared to $270,500 in Thousand Oaks. A similar home cost $237,500 in Moorpark and $325,000 in Westlake Village, the most expensive area.

An estimated 40 percent of Ventura County households could afford one of these homes in the third quarter, down 5 percent from the third quarter of last year.

With the median home in Ventura County costing $226,190, this means 40 percent of households have the minimal annual income of $61,000 to make a 20 percent down payment and $1,550 monthly mortgage payments (including property taxes and insurance).