County Home Buyers Earn More Than Those Statewide

Home buyers in Ventura County have larger families and higher incomes than their counterparts statewide, a study shows.

Families who bought new homes in the county last year averaged 3.2 persons compared to a statewide average of 2.7 persons, according to a study by Chicago Title and Trust Co.

Ventura County home purchasers had a median household income of $65,600, against a median throughout California of $62,000, the title company said. First-time buyers in Ventura County followed the Southern California trend toward lower home prices last year by paying a median of $172,000, down from $183,000 in 1993.

First-time purchasers used just under 33% of their spendable income to make average monthly mortgage payments of $1,183 last year. This percentage was down from 37% the previous year. Among all buyers in the county, 31% of after-tax incomes went to mortgage payments, down from 34% the previous year. Monthly payments on all homes that changed hands in the county in 1994 averaged $1,299.

Because of a near-record spread between interest rates for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages and 30-year fixed-rate loans, 37% of last year’s first-time buyers chose adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), up from 28% in 1993.

The study showed that first-time buyers accounted for 37% of all home purchases in the county last year, far below the 47% share nationwide. Just under 20% of the county’s first-time buyers were single, while only 6% of repeat buyers were single.

Ventura County buyers looked at an average of nearly 16 houses before making a purchase. The average home price of nearly $230,000 was among the highest in the nation.

Single-family houses accounted for 86% of sales in the county last year, with condominiums and multifamily houses accounting for 14%.