1 in 13 CA Homes Sold for $1 Million-Plus!

Today's report from DataQuick News will likely be the last of it's kind for a long time in this market (click the DataQuick chart at right to see a larger version):

California million-dollar home sales in 2005 surged to a new peak for the fourth year in a row, as appreciation pushed a higher portion of overall sales into the seven-figure category, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 48,666 Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more last year. That was up 47.0 percent from 33,107 in 2004. The total was 19,080 in 2003 and 13,871 in 2002, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

One in thirteen homes sold for more than a million dollars last year, up from one in twenty the year before.

"In reality, the prestige market remained pretty stable from 2004 to 2005. But because of the increase in home values across the board, more sales prices crossed the million-dollar threshold. In other words, homes that would have sold for $900,000 in 2004, sold for more than a million last year," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

Statewide, there were 310 sales for more than $5 million last year, 327 sales were in the $4-$5 million range, 990 in the $3 million range, 3,937 sales in the $2 million range, and the rest between $1 million and $2 million.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The numbers include home sales where it could be determined from public records that there was a buyer, a seller, that money changed hands, and that there was a legal transfer of property ownership. Not included were property swaps, sales of multiple lots, teardowns, and large farm or ranch properties. Home sales to companies were included, as were sales to trusts.

The most expensive confirmed purchase was a 13,636 square-foot 6-bedroom, 12-bathroom La Jolla house on six acres which went for $23,500,000 in September. The largest was a 7-bedroom, 8-bathroom 18,369 square-foot house on 2.2 acres in Solana Beach in San Diego County which went for $6,200,000 in August.

Ross in Marin County and Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County were communities where virtually all home sales were in the million- dollar category.

Several new million-dollar home markets emerged last year, mostly because of sales of newly-built large homes on big lots. The areas include Corona and Norco in Southern California, and Union City in the East Bay.

Newly-built homes accounted for 9,043 of last year's sales, up 73.6 percent from 5,210 for 2004. San Diego and Orange counties were the most active markets for newly-built million-dollar homes, DataQuick reported.

There were 2,902 condo sales in the million-dollar category, up 73.0 percent from 1,677 year ago. Most were sold in West Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

Find the entire story at this link.

— The Boy in the Big Housing Bubble