Home Sales Rise in March but so Do Foreclosures

Ventura County homeowners are getting both good and bad news regarding the state of real estate activity so far this year.

Sales of detached homes increased during March from the month before and soared more than 30% from a year earlier, while the median price of homes increased 4.1% in a year.

On the other hand, the number of Ventura County homeowners who entered the foreclosure process also jumped more than 34% during the first quarter of this year over a year ago. Despite that, some experts say there are signs the foreclosure problem could subside somewhat in coming months.

According to a report released by the California Assn. of Realtors, the median price of homes in Ventura County in March was $201,380, up 0.6% from February and 4.1% from March 1995.

The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

The report shows that the number of sales in March increased 38.2% over February and 30.5% over March 1995. Individual sales figures were not released.

For all of California, sales were up nearly 30% from a year ago, and the median sales price jumped 3.1% during March from the month before--the sharpest monthly increase in home prices in five years.

“The March home sales and price statistics represent the most vivid indication yet that California’s housing market recovery is gaining momentum,� said association president Rick Snyder.

“Statewide, home sales have now increased on a monthly basis during 10 of the last 11 months, and sales also have increased from a year ago for six consecutive months.�

But a separate report by DataQuick Information Systems shows that 779 Ventura County homeowners received notices of default during the January-to-March period, up from 579 for the first quarter of 1995.

Statewide, the number of homeowners who received the default notices reached an all-time high of 44,686. That was up 18.7% from the previous quarter and 35.8% from first-quarter 1995, according to DataQuick.

Default “counts have gone up because lending institutions have become more strict during the past couple of months,� said DataQuick chief executive officer Donald L. Cohn. “We’re seeing many of them take action on delinquent loans three or four months faster than they would have last fall.�

A year ago, most homeowners going into foreclosure were eight to 10 months behind on their mortgage payments. That time span has been shortened to five to seven months.

“The numbers also seem to indicate that a higher portion of distressed homeowners are emerging from the foreclosure process before their homes are lost to the bank,� Cohn said. “We need another month or two of data, though, before we can call that a trend.�

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.