HOUSING MARKET SINKS SALES OF HOMES IN OCTOBER AT 10-YEAR LOW, PRICES MIXED.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX  Staff Writer

Southern California's housing market remained in the doldrums during October, sinking to a 10-year low for that month as prices contined to flatten, an industry tracker said Tuesday.

Last month, consumers in the six-county region bought 22,117 new and previously owned houses and condominiums, 22.4 percent fewer than a year ago and off 2.4 percent from September, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems.

October's total is the lowest for the month since 1996, when 18,505 properties changed owners. Sales for the month have ranged from a low of 14,608 in 1991 to a high of 32,522 in 2003.

The October average for DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988, is 23,077 sales.

The median price, the point at which half the buyers paid more and half less, declined in two counties and increased in the others.

``We're just seeing the market kind of settle in,'' said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. ``Looking at the trend in general, it appears we will probably have (price) numbers going negative in Southern California year over year sometime late this year or early next year.'' That could continue for three to six months, he said.

And while sales are well under the level of last year and 2004, those were exceptionally strong markets, Karevoll noted.

During October:

In Los Angeles County, the median price increased an annual 4.5 percent to $514,000 and sales fell 21.8 percent to 7,622 transactions.

Ventura County's median price fell an annual 2.3 percent to $582,000 and sales fell 19.6 percent to 940 transactions.

In Riverside County, the median price rose 4.9 percent to $410,000 and sales dropped 24.2 percent to 4,200 units.

San Bernardino County's median price increased 2.3 percent to $362,000 and sales fell 21.3 percent to 3,318 transactions.

Orange County's median price increased 3.1 percent to $625,000 and sales fell 24.9 percent to 2,715 transactions.

In San Diego County, the median price fell 5.5 percent to $485,000 and sales declined 21 percent to 3,282 transactions.

For all of Southern California, the median price increased 2.3 percent to $484,000.

Annual percentage price increases have been in single digits for seven consecutive months.

``It's harder to buy a home if you think it might go down in value than it is if you're convinced it's going up. Buyers are taking their time, trying to wait out the uncertainty in a market that is rebalancing itself,'' DataQuick President Marshall Prentice said in a statement.

In October, buyers committed to an average monthly mortgage payment of $2,287 last month, down from $2,309 the previous month and up from $2,169 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 1.7 percent above typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle.

And they are 6.4 percent below the current cycle's June price peak.

DataQuick reported that signs of market distress remained at a moderate level last month. Adjustable-rate financing is flat and down payment sizes are stable, as are flipping rates -- buying a house in hopes of turning a quick profit.

Nima Nattagh, an analyst and consultant for mortgage lenders, said the market is following predictions made earlier in the year. ``I still maintain we're not going to see a major decline in prices but prices will remain soft for the remainder of the year.''

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