Home Numbers Bonanza

Only about three-quarters as many homes sold in San Diego County last month as sold in March 2005, DataQuick Information Systems has reported. And the sales rate for homes in the Southern California area — including L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties — was down nearly one-third compared to a year ago.

Sales in resale detached, resale condo, and new homes were all down year-over-year by double-digit percentages in the county and the region. Prices dropped by a few points in local resale condos and new construction, but stayed the same as the year previous for resale detached homes.

In general, sales are down by more than 25 percent compared to last March, but median prices rose from February 2007 in all categories.

The median landed at $490,000 for all homes, up from February’s $472,000 and January’s $472,000. The resale detached, resale condos, and new homes sold last month had higher median prices than the ones sold the previous month.

My buddy Vladimir Kogan put some of the DataQuick numbers in graphs so we can see the trends. Here’s a look at the last 18 months for median prices, starting with October 2005:

Here’s a look at the sales in March for each of the last ten years:

And here’s the March median prices for the last decade:

— KELLY BENNETT