COUNTY HOME SALES POST 21% GAIN.

Byline: Christoper Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

Second quarter home sales were up by 21 percent in Ventura County compared to the same period last year, an increase that analysts say reflects a gradual recovery in the statewide real estate market.

In Ventura County 2,681 homes were sold this year at an average price of $232,956, up from the 2,216 homes sold during the same period a year ago, according to TRW REDI Property Data.

``The figures look fantastic,'' said Chris McClintock, president of the Conejo Valley Association of Relators. ``This is good consistent growth.''

Home sales were up in seven counties in Southern California, with Orange and San Diego counties reporting the sharpest increases. Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties recorded the slowest growth.

A regional analyst, however, cautioned that the promising figures do not mean a complete recovery for a market that suffered badly in 1995. The figures reflect more on the sluggish market a year ago than a particularly brisk one today, said TRW REDI market research analyst Nima Nattagh.

``We've had a fairly good year, but it's relative to 1995 which wasn't very good at all,'' Nattagh said. Growth is actually on par with rates recorded in 1994, signaling to Nattagh that the market has stabilized.

Other measurements show that Ventura County is recovering more quickly than other areas of California, Nattagh said. Home values recorded in the repeat sales index show that Ventura County properties are beginning to hold their values, he said.

``In other parts of California they're still declining,'' Nattagh said. ``The market is sharply down from the market of the late '80s, but I think we're seeing it stabilize at about what the local economy can support.''

In the Conejo Valley, growth increased steadily in June, with a total of 268 single-family homes sold in comparison with 227 during the same month a year ago. The median price of single-family homes in June of this year was $251,428, compared with a median price of $248,066 a year ago, according to the Conejo Valley Association of Realtors.

Recent growth has been driven largely by first-time home buyers taking advantage of low interest rates, McClintock said.

But growth has stalled as interest rates have crept upward over the past six months, he said.

``We've already seen the impact on first-time home buyers,'' she said. ``We've lost some of them. Any of us out in the field are experiencing that same anxiety.''

But the nudging increase in interest rates does not dramatically threaten growth, according to Nattagh. Rates are still much lower than during other periods of industry growth, he said. In addition, many more first-time buyers have been lured into the market by more flexible mortgage terms.

``People are qualifying much more easily now,'' Nattagh said. ``That's having a great impact on the first-time home buyer market.''

While the steady growth in sales is encouraging, McClintock says the market still is feeling the crunch of 1995.

``We're looking forward to turning the corner from a buyer's market to a seller's market,'' she said. ``We're not there yet, but we hope to be soon.''

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