California Home Prices Surge
LOS ANGELES - The median home price in California last month surged 10.9 percent from May 2009 to $278,000, as investors of low-cost forewclosures dwindled and transactions in mid-range and high-end neighborhoods claimed a greater share of the sales.
Last month's median was up from $230,000 to $255,000 in April, San Diego-based MDA DataQuick said Tthursday. The May median, which marked a seventh consecutive month of year-over-year increases, was at its highestlevel since October 2008.
DataQuick President John Walsh said some of the higher-priced homes were reaching the market because of increasing economic troubles among middle and upper-class families, who are compelled to sell.
But he said low mortgage rates and the now-expiring federal tax credits for home buyers also had helped boost the proportion of more expensive homes with the sales mix.
Sales of homes costing $500,000 or more made up 21.2 percent of all transactions in the state last month, up from 16.5 percent a year ago.
The median home price in Northern California jumped 20.1 percent to $410,000 last month from $341,500 in April 2009. In Southern California, the median price surged 22.5 percent to $305,000, up from $249,000 in the year-ago period.
Source: Reno Gazette Journal, Friday, June 18th, 2010, Business Section page 10A