Home Sales Up in March; Realtors React Cautiously

Sales of existing homes in San Diego County rose by 17% during March to 870 units, up from 726 sales during February, according to a survey released Monday by the San Diego Board of Realtors. The month-to-month increase was the first during 1991, and the highest percentage increase recorded since April-May, 1990, when sales rose by 7%.

The March figures included sales initiated in late January, shortly after hostilities ended in the Middle East and consumer confidence skyrocketed, said Bill Opie, president of the 5,500-member association. “We’re seeing things drift back up,” Opie said. “It’s not overwhelming, but it’s nice.”

Although sales rose during March, the average price of an existing San Diego-area house remained at $212,241, comparable to the average price during the previous month and during March, 1990.

The county’s supply of unsold existing homes remained high. At the current sales rate, it would take 16.2 months to deplete the existing supply of homes on the market, contrasted with just 6.8 months in March, 1990. However, the association’s index of unsold homes did fall slightly--from 17.4 months in February.

There was mixed news in the county’s new-housing market. Sales rose to 1,644 units during the first quarter of 1991, a 28% increase over the previous quarter, according to The Meyers Group, a real estate research and consulting firm.

However, while new-home sales increased and inventory decreased, first-quarter sales “failed to match historical levels, which traditionally have risen by an average of 34% between the fourth and first quarters of the year,” according to Peter Dennehy, a senior consultant with The Meyers Group.

Reeb cautioned against “believing that the bottom has finally (been) hit and the economy will now begin its upturn. . . . We don’t want to create the illusion that the market has improved more significantly than it really has.”

Single-family home sales rose by 72% to 1,141 in March, up from 662 units during the last quarter of 1990. Condominium sales, however, fell by 19% to 503 units, down from 622 units during the previous quarter.

The county’s supply of new houses fell by 8% to 3,772 units, against 4,104 units during the previous quarter. However, inventory remained more than 50% higher than during the first quarter of 1990. Based upon the current sales rate, it would take seven months to deplete the supply of new, unsold homes, Reeb said.

“We don’t expect the market to dive, but we’re encouraging people to take a longer-term outlook before assuming that the bottom has been reached,” Dennehy said.