Average Home Cost Drops to $218,700

The housing market in the San Fernando Valley may be cooling off. In March, for the second month in a row, the average price of a single-family house declined. Last month, the average price dipped to $218,700, compared to February’s price of $219,800.

Realtors said the declines could mark the end of a two-year hot streak of rising prices in the Valley real estate market. Between January, 1986, and January, 1988, the average home price jumped 37%, from $163,100 to a record $223,400.

‘Lot of Demand Satisfied’

“More people are putting their homes on the market and they’re not being sold quite as fast as they were in the last two years because a lot of the housing demand has already been satisfied,” said Dave Walker, a spokesman for the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors. “Many people have already found their dream home.”

As a result, Walker said, homeowners are now forced to lower their prices.

Tom Carnahan, the board’s president, said he doesn’t expect the value of houses and condominiums to jump as much as in 1987. “I’d think we’ll see lower price appreciation than we saw in 1987,” he said. (In 1987, the average condominium price climbed 7% compared to a year earlier.)

The recent dip in house prices, however, has led to a jump in demand. There were 1,186 houses sold in March, 41.2% more than in February, the board reported Monday. Only 840 houses were sold in February.

Realtors also attributed the recent surge in home sales to attractive mortgage interest rates, which are averaging about 10.5% for a fixed-rate, 30-year loan, and as low as 7.25% for an adjustable-rate mortgage.

As for the condominium market, the average price in March was $116,800, up 1.2% from February’s average of $115,400. A total of 322 condominiums were sold in March compared to 241 in February.

In March, there were 4,895 houses and 1,820 condominiums listed for sale. In comparison, in February, there were 4,671 houses and 1,764 condominiums available.

The Valley realty board, California’s largest, reports sales of houses and condominiums by its members in the area from North Hollywood to Agoura.

Its statistics do not include most new residences, which generally are sold without a real estate agent, or existing homes that are sold by their owners.

MARCH VALLEY HOUSE SALES NORTH WEST

Avg. Price: $246,200

Sales: 70

NORTH CENTRAL

Avg. Price: $224,800

Sales: 188

NORTH EAST

Avg. Price: $131,100

Sales: 216

SOUTH WEST

Avg. Price: $251,173

Sales: 262

SOUTH CENTRAL

Avg. Price: $233,500

Sales: 181

SOUTH EAST

Avg. Price: $236,000

Sales: 269