Home Sales Fuel Optimism

There’s a feeling of guarded optimism among Ventura County’s real estate brokers. That feeling is fueled by news that resales of single-family homes in the county rose 5% in 1992, topped off by a 23% year-to-year increase in December.

“I’m convinced we’re going to have a good market in 1993--definitely better than ’91 or ‘92,� said Joe Brown Sr., chairman of Thousand Oaks-based Brown/Realtors. “Mortgage money is available, consumers are in a better mood and there’s plenty of good products to sell out there.�

Increased hiring by two nearby employers, biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. and Dole Food, has helped the Conejo Valley housing market considerably, Brown added. He said business at his brokerage last year was “about even� with the previous year, but that he and his associates are seeing signs of a pickup. “For the first time in a couple of years, we’re starting to see multiple offers on some properties.�

Still, prices remain soft in Thousand Oaks, one of the county’s highest-priced housing areas. “A home that would have sold for $425,000 in 1988 would bring $375,000 to $400,000 today,� Brown noted.

In Ventura, Mike Paris, head of Paris & Associates, said his brokerage, too, has seen business turn upward recently. “We’re getting more calls, and more people are showing up at open houses,� he aid. Most of the prospective buyers are looking for lower-priced homes, he added.

Paris said prices among relatively new tract homes on Ventura’s east side are off 25% to 30% since 1989. Large houses that once sold for $330,000 or $340,000 can now be bought for $260,000, he said.

Home prices in Ventura’s hillside areas have taken hits, too, Paris reported. “View homes that would have cost more than $400,000 three years ago now are being listed in the low $300,000 range.�

In mid-town Ventura, Paris said, “You can now buy a nice two-bedroom home for $150,000 or $160,000.�

According to Dataquick Information Systems of La Jolla, 5,782 previously owned houses were sold in Ventura County last year, compared to 5,497 in 1991. Last year’s median price was $210,000, down 4% from $219,000.

Condominium resales totaled 1,427 last year, 4% below 1,482 in 1991. Last year’s condo median price of $151,000 was off 1% from $153,000 in 1991.

Sales of newly built homes, including condos, totaled 976, down 13% from 1,115 the previous year. The median price for new homes in 1992 was $258,000, down 4%.

In December, 564 single-family homes were resold, compared to 458 in December, 1991. The latest median price was $200,000, down 4% from the same month in 1991.

The Ventura County market has been hit especially hard because many so-called move-up houses were built in the county in the past five years, said John Karevoll, editor and publisher of the Southern California Real Estate Observer newsletter.

“That discretionary market--fairly large houses with quite a few amenities--sold well and rose sharply in price in 1988 and 1989,� he said. “Since then, however, the market for those houses has suffered worst of all.�