FOR RELEASE: January 15, 1996

A dramatic increase in condominium resales highlighted an otherwise sluggish local residential resale market in 1995, according to statistics released today (Monday, Jan. 15) by the San Fernando Valley Association of Realtors. The 11,733 total transactions that closed escrow last year represented the second highest total since 1990, but were 5.8 p

ercent below 1994 sales.

Of the 11,733 total sales, 1,958 were condominiums, which represented a 23 percent increase over 1994 figures. The single-family total of 9,775 closed escrows was a disappointing 9.9 percent drop.

"1995 was a transitional year for home sellers, buyers and Realtors," said John E. Maquar, president of the 6,800-member San Fernando Valley Association of Realtors. "Sellers came to grips with lower resale prices, buyers enjoyed incredible opportunities, and Realtors learned to cope with sweeping changes and stunning marketing advances th

at have transformed the residential real estate industry."

The year ended with buyers racing to snap up condominiums at record-low resale prices and virtually all activity, even in single-family homes, centered in entry level price ranges.

Despite the slowdown in resale activity, members of the San Fernando Valley Association of Realtors generated in excess of 2.4 billion for the local economy during 1995.

"Buyers will return to the market in great numbers when it's clear that all of the earthquake and recession-related foreclosures have worked their way through the system," said Jim Link, the association's executive vice president. "At that point they may be too late to capture the best prices, but that's when single-family resale activity

will really take off.

Neither Link nor Maquar expected to see a dramatic change in the local market through the first half of 1996, but both forecast rising activity in the last six months of the year and in early 1997.

The single-family slow down came on the heels of two years of rising resale activity, while the condo increase marked the end of five consecutive years of falling sales, association statistics indicated.

Virtually all of the sales that closed last year were price driven with the bulk of activity centered in properties priced under $200,000 a welcome trend for the thousands of renters and families who had been priced out of the market during the boom years.

1995 marked the fifth consecutive year that single-family resale prices fell, but it also offered hope that the price slide was slowing. The single-family average price of $218,342 was 5.4 percent lower than a year ago and followed two years of double-digit price declines.

The condo average of $106,067 was 11.6 percent lower than a year ago, marking the fourth consecutive year of condo price declines.

The San Fernando Valley Association of Realtors is a local trade association comprised of 6,800 members who serve the real estate needs of the vast community spanning the Valley from North Hollywood to Calabasas.

It is the largest local association in California and the third largest nationwide. It is also part of a growing computerized marketing network that spans northern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County.

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