HOMES SALES SET RECORD HOUSE BUYING AT 13-YEAR HIGH IN VALLEY.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer Home sales in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. - and the prices paid - continued their record-setting pace in March, the Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. Regional Association of Realtors announced Monday. Single-family home sales jumped 12.7 percent over the same month in 2001, with a record 1,192 units closing escrow escrow Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party. It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfillment of some condition. , the best showing in 13 years. This represents a strong jump of 38.4 percent over last February, when real estate agents sold 861 homes. Condominium condominium In modern property law, individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building. Unit owners have undivided ownership interest in the land and those portions of the building shared in common. resales were only fractionally ahead of March 2001, with 457 recorded transactions, but climbed 29.8 percent over February's 352 sales. ``People are ready to buy right now,'' said Jim Link, the association's executive vice president. ``If a home's on the market and it's priced properly, it will sell right away.'' The Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. also set records, as 276 single-family homes were snapped up by consumers, up 10.8 percent from last March. Condominiums were similarly hot, with 160 closing escrow, up 15.1 percent from the same month last year. At the same time, available listings dropped to 568. As with previous months, when favorable mortgage rates and optimism about a recovering economy propelled sales, consumers showed no hesitation, even as prices climbed. The median price for a single-family home in the San Fernando Valley now sits at a record $285,000, 15.6 percent higher than last March and 3.1 percent above this February. Given the tight demand, Link says, prices shouldn't drop anytime soon. ``Buyers are not willing to overpay o·ver·pay v. o·ver·paid , o·ver·pay·ing, o·ver·pays v.tr. 1. To pay (a party) too much. 2. To pay an amount in excess of (a sum due). v.intr. To pay too much. ,'' he said. ``While you do see multiple offers on houses, we're not seeing buyers overpaying or lenders overappraising. The sale has to be justified with comparables - but those comparables are going up, so all the prices are up.'' The torrid pace for the year's first three months strapped the market so only a 1.6-month supply remains, tighter than February's 2.3-month supply. At month's end, Realtors had 2,677 listings, down 36.8 percent from the same period last year. In a typical market, a half-year's supply remains. ``As we've been saying, even low inventory hasn't slowed people down,'' said Olga Moretti, the association's president. ``Now people are scrambling even faster to get into properties. The rental market's gone so high, so you can actually get into a condo for less than you'd pay in rent in higher-end places.'' This spells good news for real estate agents, who have kept busy in the face of a hotly competitive market. She speculates that unless the market cools dramatically, sales for the year will overtake 1989's previous highs. And, Link said, they'll be busy for quite some time. ``We don't see the crunch on available supply easing up at least through this summer's real estate season,'' he said. ``The demand is really strong and as new listings hit the market they're being gobbled up really fast.'' The ravenous appetite for home-buying has reached new levels, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jack Kyser, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the for the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Economic Development Corp. ``The housing resale market in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, continues to be red hot, almost frighteningly red hot,'' Kyser said. ``There's a frenzy. You have mortgage rates creeping back up and low inventories, so people know they need to get into the market. People are a little scared that prices will go down, but they're still buying.'' CAPTION(S): chart Chart: HOME SALES SURGE SOURCE: Southland Regional Association of Realtors Daily News |
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