Home sales rise in L.A. County
Orange County continues downfall
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Home sales in Los Angeles County jumped by 6.6 percent in October, compared to the same month a year ago, while prices dipped by 7.7 percent, a real estate information service announced today.
A total of 5,830 homes changed hands locally last month, compared to 5,470 in October 2010, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick. The median price of a home in Los Angeles County in October was $300,000, down from $325,000 in October 2010.
In Orange County, 2,241 homes were sold in October, down 2.5 percent from October 2010, when 2,298 were sold. The median home price was $405,000 last month, down 7.5 percent from $438,000 in October 2010.
A total of 16,829 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in October, according to DataQuick. That was down 7.3 percent from 18,149 in September, but up 0.5 percent from 16,744 in October 2010.
“For a few months now, lower prices and amazingly low mortgage rates have kept resale activity slightly ahead of last year,” DataQuick President John Walsh said. “Of course, that’s not saying a lot when you consider sales were 25 to 30 percent below average. The market continues to struggle with a difficult lending environment, uncertainty among potential buyers, underwater homeowners who can’t move up and a weak job market.”
The median price for a Southern California home was $270,000 last month, down 3.6 percent from $280,000 in September and down 4.6 percent from $283,000 in October 2010, according to DataQuick.
Sunday, May 29
Free Admission to Knott’s Berry Farm, Soak City for All U.S. Military
Knott’s Berry Farm and Southern California Knott’s Soak City water parks in San Diego and Buena Park will offer free admission to active and retired U.S. military personnel Memorial Day weekend. A valid military I.D. must be presented to receive free admission.
For more information visit www.knotts.com.
PBS’s National Memorial Day Concert
A series of articles reported on proposed activities that would simultaneously relieve transportation snarls in the Antelope Valley, and connect a high speed rail line with another train from Southern California to Las Vegas.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said today he welcomed news of a pending sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but said he wanted the new owner to be somebody local.
“It absolutely has to be somebody from L.A., somebody who loves this town, who believes in this city and understands that the Dodgers aren’t just a team. They’re a collective community asset,” the mayor said.
More than 5.7 million students, teachers and administrators throughout the state will join businesspeople, hospital staff emerency responders and folk in their homes in participation during the 2011 Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill set for today at 10:20 a.m. Overall, more than 8.5 million Californians have registered to take part in the “Drop, Cover and Hold On” drill.
Also, more than 50 radio stations throughout the state will broadcast what to do if and when the shaking begins.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—The siren system that alerts neighboring communities in the event of an emergency at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station will undergo annual testing next week, Southern California Edison announced today.
On Oct. 19 between 10 a.m. and noon, 50 sirens located in the communities around the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station—including Dana Point, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Camp Pendleton—will be activated several times for about three minutes each time.
