November sales reach a 15-year high

Southern California home sales experienced their strongest November in 15 years, the result of robust demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates, DataQuick Information Services reported.

A total of 27,628 homes was sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November. That was down 15% from 32,522 for the month before and up 7.9% from 25,601 for November a year ago. A decline from October to November is normal for the season.

Last month's sales count was the strongest for any November since 1988 when 29,303 homes were sold. Through last month, 327,560 Southland homes have been sold this year, up 5.6% from the same period last year.

The median price paid for a Southern California home was $336,000 in November. That was up 16.7% from $288,000 for November last year.