Home prices continue general rise

Paul Clinton

If January is any indicator, local home values are showing no sign of

falling off.

In a report issued Wednesday by San Diego-based DataQuick

Information Systems, only two of the area’s seven ZIP Codes showed a

drop in home prices from a year ago.

“We expect sales to stay strong, although probably not record

breaking” said Marshall Prentice, the company’s president. “We don’t

see anything in our statistics that would indicate that the market is

due for any change in the immediate future.”

Newport Coast’s 92657 ZIP Code showed the largest increase, a

sharply higher 61.5% appreciation in median price from January of

2002.

The area registered a median sale price of $1.01 million, which is

also the mid-point price for all sales.

That number should be viewed with some caution, Realtors said,

because builders are still rapidly adding new homes that weren’t

there a year ago.

“That number is a little artificial,” said Patricia Moore,

executive vice president of the Orange Coast Assn. of Realtors.

“Homes that haven’t been on the market are selling.”

Balboa Peninsula’s 92661 was also robust, showing a 33.3%

increase, to a $2.63 million median sale price.

The city’s other two codes, 92660 and 92663, were essentially

flat. In 92660, which included Eastbluff and Big Canyon, the median

price dropped 2.3%, to $870,000.

The median price remained flat, with no growth or decline, in

92663, coming in at $408,750. That code includes West Newport.

Corona del Mar, in 92625, showed the sharpest decline in

Newport-Mesa, dropping 64% in January, to an even $1 million. There were 104 homes sold in January in Newport Beach.

In neighboring Costa Mesa, home values shot up substantially. The

city’s 92626 code grew in value 34.6%, to $402,000. This largest of

city postal zones includes the Westside.

“Costa Mesa would be going up because it’s more affordable,” Moore

said. “It’s more affordable, so there’s more room for appreciation

there.”

Costa Mesa’s 92627, the city’s Eastside, grew 10% in median price,

to $359,000. There were 79 homes sold in both Costa Mesa codes during

the month.