Prices going up but resale homes affordable in region
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Sunday, February 22, 2004.
By ANN WISHART
Valley Press Business Editor
 
 

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PALMDALE - Although the prices of homes have risen dramatically in the Antelope Valley in the last year, the region is still incredibly affordable compared to some southern California locales.
The median prices of previously owned homes in parts of west Palmdale rose more than 40% since January 2003, claiming a median price of $303,000. And still, 66 homes sold in that ZIP code in January 2004.

But compared to prices in Orange County - or, even closer to home, the San Fernando Valley - the AV is still affordable. January's median resale home prices in Lancaster range between $155,000 and $216,000; in Palmdale, median prices range between $130,000 and $303,000.

While 285 homes sold in January in Lancaster and 259 in Palmdale, the challenge is to track one down and get an offer accepted, said Dana Haycock, Realtor with Coldwell Banker Bozigian Realty.

Any time a mid-priced home goes on the market, it gathers eight to 12 offers within four days, she said.

"In the $150,000 to $200,000 range, the pressure is enormous," Haycock said. "All they want is a three bedroom, two bath house in a nice neighborhood," but finding one is problematic.

Checking the Multiple Listing Service used by most real estate agents, she turned up a 600-square-foot structure with zero bedrooms and zero baths 260 miles east of Palmdale for $95,000.

"Yes, there are houses available," but they may not be habitable, Haycock said.

Generally, if a buyer comes to her, Haycock figures she can get them into a house in under two months, depending on their requirements. But it takes a lot of collaboration between the shopper and the agent to get it done, she said.

"If we're working diligently, it might take 45 days," she said. Haycock recommended buyers find an agent they feel they can trust, then stay in touch daily - or even twice a day.

She referred to an observation made by Robert Rivinius, president of the California Building Industry Association that middle-income people, such as police officers, nurses and teachers, are priced out of the market if home costs get too high.

"Where are the people going to come from who are going to protect you?" if they can't afford to live nearby, Haycock asked.

While prices are still reasonable in the Valley, demand is likely to push them ever higher.

"The little meter is running," she said. "Prices are going up every day."

To put her quote in perspective, Data Quick News noted the median price of a previously owned home in Orange County hit $500,000 for the first time in January as property values continued their meteoric rise.

Orange County is the first Southern California county to hit the half-million-dollar mark for resales, said analyst John Karevoll of DataQuick Information Systems, the real estate data provider that released the housing statistics Tuesday. The latest resale record reflected a 26.6% price jump from $395,000 in January 2003.

The overall median home price in the county - for previously owned homes, new homes and condos - was $450,000, up from $369,000 a year earlier, but down from the all-time high of $467,000 in December.

Some relief is on the horizon. Construction of new homes continues at a furious pace all across the Valley and some of the developments are still selling in the low $200,000-range. Palmdale is planning to build some townhouses through a nonprofit organization dedicated to affordable housing. The same group is talking about building single-family homes starting at about $155,000 in Lancaster, she said.

Palmdale also developed some income-restricted housing in three locations called The Boulders, which have manufactured homes with prices not tied to the market rate, said Michale Adams, housing manager for the Palmdale Redevelopment Agency. While the prices for the Boulders homes haven't gone up, more and more people are clamoring for the properties as they are priced out of the resale and new home markets, he said.
 

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