Million-dollar home sales top record in California

Transactions up 47% year-over-year, report finds
Inman News
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 today.

A total of 48,666 Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more last year, up 47 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 13 homes sold for more than a million dollars last year, up from one in 20 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.

The most expensive confirmed purchase was a 13,636-square-foot, 6-bedroom, 12-bathroom La Jolla house on six acres, which sold for $23.5 million 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 sold for $6.2 million 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 San Francisco Bay Area.

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 percent from 1,677 a year ago. Most were sold in West Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

The median-sized million-dollar home was 2,480 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The median price per square foot for all million-dollar homes was $516, up 5.6 percent from $489 a year ago, DataQuick reported.

Around 10 percent of the buyers paid cash, down from 15 percent in 2004. Of those who financed their purchase, the median down payment was 28 percent of the purchase price. Lending institutions most willing to provide mortgage financing were Countrywide, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo, according to DataQuick.

ZIP        Community                       2004     2005       2005's Most
         (ranked by 2005 sales#)     Sales#   Sales#   Expensive

92037    La Jolla                         464      478       $23.50 mill.
90266    Manhattan Beach            458      444      $5.25 mill.
94010    Hillsborough                   384      396      $6.50 mill.
92130    Del Mar                          327      379      $7.50 mill.
92677    Laguna Niguel                 295      378      $6.74 mill.
95070    Saratoga                        334      372      $5.80 mill.
92660    Newport Beach                343      371      $7.60 mill.
92648    Huntington Beach            196      360      $3.45 mill.
92253    La Quinta                       201      354      $9.54 mill.
95014    Cupertino                       247      347      $2.55 mill.
92657    Newport Beach                205      346     $10.00 mill.
92651    Laguna Beach                 348      337      $12.18 mill.
91302    Calabasas                      305      328      $7.50 mill.
90274    Rolling Hills Estates          309      315      $6.50 mill.
92679    Trabuco/Coto                   96      308      $6.00 mill.
94506    Danville                         270      307      $6.89 mill.
90275    Rancho Palos Verdes        274      303      $4.95 mill.
94941    Mill Valley                      262      300      $5.00 mill.
95138    San Jose                        210      285      $4.26 mill.
95120    San Jose                        174      278      $3.70 mill.
94539    Fremont                         208      274      $2.75 mill.
90272    Pacific Palisades             277      267      $8.30 mill.
94526    Danville                         142      259      $3.15 mill.
90049    Brentwood                     226      254      $5.32 mill.
94024    Los Altos                       270      252       $4.50 mill.

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.dqnews.com