VENTURA COUNTY HOME VALUES STABILIZING.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

Ventura County home values continue to decline, but at the slowest pace since 1990, officials said Tuesday.

Home values in the county declined by 1.6 percent between the first quarters of 1995 and 1996, compared to a 2.7 percent drop between the first quarters of 1994 and 1995, according to a survey by TRW REDI Property Data.

``What we're saying is the rate of decline has slowed down,'' said Nima Nattagh, TRW REDI's market analyst. ``It's reflective of better market conditions and lower foreclosure volumes. The supply and demand has tipped in favor of demand compared to the scenario that we had two to three years ago, which was supply far outpacing the demand.''

The 1.6 percent drop is a dramatic improvement in price depreciation compared to previous years, analysts said. For instance, a home bought in Ventura County in 1990 and sold in 1995 lost about 19 percent in equity.

That amounts to a loss of $36,100 on a home bought for $190,000.

TRW REDI, an Anaheim-based nationwide real estate information company, reports that the rate of decline in home values either has slowed down or values are showing signs of slight increases statewide.

San Francisco lead the state with a 1.2 percent increase in home values between the first quarters of 1995 and 1996, which cover the months of January, February and March.

Ventura County posted the seventh-best improvement among other counties in the state, TRW REDI reported. Los Angeles County placed 12th, posting a 3.9 percent decline, which was down from a drop of 6.8 percent between the first quarters of 1994 and 1995.

Ernest Siracusa, president of Westlake Village-based The Siracusa Co., which monitors real estate trends and conducts market research in Southern California, said declining home values have been a major obstacle to a recovery in the local real estate market.

``It's one reason that many people have sat on the sidelines, because they're afraid to go out and get into a property and find that it's lost value,'' he said. ``So this is obviously good news that there's stabilization in home values.''

Stabilizing home prices have helped to boost county home sales in recent months.

Buoyed by an improving economy and favorable interest rates, Ventura County posted a 58 percent increase in home sales in April compared to year-ago figures, a recent TRW REDI survey showed.

Countywide, the average price was $225,073.

TRW REDI based its home value report on the sale of 300 homes a month in targeted areas.

In Southern California, value declines have slowed down significantly in Ventura, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties, Nattagh said. There is no sign of market stabilization in Santa Barbara, Orange and San Bernardino counties, however.

As values continue to stabilize in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, however, Nattagh said the regional real estate market should show significant signs of improvement in upcoming months.

``What stable prices mean is people will start building up equity,'' he explained. ``Once you start building equity, I think we'll start seeing signs in the move-up market. Currently, a lot of people have been held back from trading up because they don't have any equity.''

Siracusa agreed.

``Price stabilization gives people another reason to buy a home,'' he said. ``If there's some appreciation in housing values, you build up equity faster, and it puts you in a better financial position as well.''

CAPTION(S):

Chart

Chart: HOME VALUES