LUXURY HOME VALUES EBBING GAINS TAPER OFF IN FOURTH QUARTER.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer Luxury-home values in 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. and other high-end markets hit record levels last year, but the gains moderated in the fourth quarter, a bank said Tuesday. The Prestige Home Index compiled by San Francisco-based First Republic Bank is showing the same kind of trend that appears entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in the resale market. The final quarter of the year brought a significant slowing. ``Continuing demand and limited inventory in some markets may result in increased luxury-home prices in 2006, but at a very modest level compared to the past two years,'' said Katherine August-deWilde, the bank's chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. . Value increases will be lowest in markets that have an inventory spike, she said. The bank began tracking the change in values of a pool of properties in the Los Angeles area, San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. and San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden in 1985. Its latest survey found that high-end values increased an annual 16 percent in 2005, to $2.29 million. But the increase eased to 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter. San Diego values increased an annual 13.3 percent in 2005, to $2.09 million. But the change from the third quarter to the fourth matches that for Los Angeles. Bay Area values gained an annual 13.2 percent, to $2.8 million. The year ended with a 1 percent increase in the fourth quarter versus the third. The Los Angeles-area pool is composed of houses in Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, La Caada Flintridge, Encino, Los Angeles, Malibu, Marina del Rey, North Hollywood, Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). , Pasadena, Playa playa or pan or flat or dry lake Flat-bottomed depression that is periodically covered by water. Playas occur in interior desert basins and adjacent to coasts in arid and semiarid regions. del Rey, Santa Monica, Studio City, Bel-Air, Brentwood and Westwood. These homes range in size from 3,000 square feet to 6,000 square feet, and have between three and six bedrooms and from three to six bathrooms. John Karevoll, an analyst at market tracker DataQuick Information Systems, said the high end of the market is expected to be the first to weaken, and that apparently is happing. ``Clearly the surge is behind us. That's part of the cycle,'' he said. ``We're just watching carefully for any signs of a significant downturn and so far we're not seeing it.'' Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com |
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