by Calculated Risk on 11/15/2005 12:32:00 PM

The OC Register reports: Sales price for O.C. housing drops for second month

Orange County's housing market continues to cool as overall sales prices fell for the second straight month.

DataQuick reported today that the median sales price for all types of O.C. residences in October was $606,000 -- that's down $4,000 from September and down $11,000 from the record high set in August, $617,000.

Still, October's price was up 14 percent from the median a year before.

Sales of 3,614 homes and condos -- resales and new construction -- closed last month. That's up 3 percent from October of last year.

These numbers are not seasonally adjusted:

October's overall 0.7 percent price drop is no big surprise. Since 1988, Orange County home prices have fallen on average by 0.4 percent in the month of October. Prices have dropped in October in 11 out of the past 18 years.

October is one of four months where home prices typically drop, according to DataQuick figures. July, September and October –- three months with historically falling prices -- reflect a typical sales slowdown after the spring's peak selling season. From 1988 to 2004, home prices appreciated a combined 6.7 percent in February through June –- but just 0.4 percent the rest of the year.