Welcome to the annual running of the Home Price Derby, in which we subject you to one last look at home prices and sales in your community in 1996.
But first, before we get to your bailiwick, here's the big picture:
A total of 182,928 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties in 1996. That was up 14.3% from 159,985 for the year before and the highest annual sales count since 1990, when 211,056 homes were sold, according to Acxiom Corp.'s DataQuick Information Systems.
Riverside County had the biggest sales increase at 19.1%. Orange County was 18.7%; San Bernardino, 14.3%; Los Angeles County, 11.7%, and Ventura County at 11.1%.
The median price paid for a Southland home was $159,100 in 1996, down very slightly from $159,400 for the year before.
"If current trends remain in place, prices will stay flat through spring and then start to inch up slightly," said DataQuick president Mike Ela.
Other tidbits:
* Of the 248 Southland communities that had more than 10 sales last year, home sales increased in 213.
* The median price was up in 110 communities, it was unchanged in 20 and it was down in 119 communities.
* Bel Air was the priciest Southland community with a median of $585,000.
* 32% of home sellers sold for less than they had bought for, compared to 35% in 1995, 40.3% in 1994 and 44.1% in 1993.
* Recorded Notices of Default totaled just over 97,000 in 1996, up from 83,000 in 1995. Almost all the increase came early in the year, foreclosure activity leveled off in the latter part of the year.
* The monthly mortgage payment on a typical home purchase loan was $926 for 1996, down more than 30% from $1,348 back in 1989.
Below is a list of prices and sales in your community:
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
BIGGEST HOME PRICE GAINS
Tarzana: 12.9%
Encino: 11.7%
Beverly Hills: 11.2%
Santa Paula: 11.1%
Venice: 10.2%
Glendale: 9.4%
Newport Beach: 9.3%
Sunland: 8.6%
Redondo Beach: 8.3%
Palos Verdes Peninsula: 7.8%
Metropolitan areas only, 100 or more sales
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BIGGEST HOME PRICE LOSSES
Laguna Niguel: -11.3%
Studio City: -9.6%
Sherman Oaks: -7.9%
Norco: -7.8%
Loma Linda: -7.7%
Chatsworth: -7.4%
San Gabriel: -7.2%
Rialto: -6.9%
Artesia: -6.6%
Sun Valley: -5.9%
Metropolitan areas only, 100 or more sales
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
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