California Home Loan, California Home Loans, Home Buyers, Refinancing, Equity Loan, Debt Consolidation, Refinance, New Purchase

By Jesus Sanchez, Times Staff Writer
September 15, 2005

Southern California's housing market hit new highs in August as the sales pace strengthened and the regional median sales price jumped 17% from year-ago levels, according to real estate figures released today.

While there have been growing signs that the region's market has been cooling off, the August results indicate that a combination of low mortgage rates and strong demand have kept the real estate market in high gear, analysts said.

The median sales price in the six-county region hit $476,000 last month — the seventh consecutive month the median has reached a record high, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based company that tracks real estate sales and prices.

The median for existing houses was $501,000, passing the $500,000 mark for the first time. The median for resale condos was $403,000, passing the $400,000 mark for the first time.

"As an investment, home ownership still looks pretty good compared to the alternatives," said DataQuick President Marshall Prentice in a statement. "So while we're certainly closer to the end of the cycle, the market is still balanced and stable."

Year-over-year price increases ranged from 2.1% in San Diego County, where the median rose to $493,000 on lower sales, to nearly 32% in San Bernardino, where the median price was $344,000.

In Los Angeles County, the region's largest market, the median sales price rose 21.4% from August of last year to $494,000. Orange County, the area's highest-priced market, saw its median climb 13.6% to $617,000.

The Riverside County median sales price increased 16.2% to $388,000, while Ventura County posted a 15.2% rise to $592,000.

A total of 34,292 homes were sold in August, an increase of 10.2% from the same month last year. That marked a rebound from July, when sales dropped 5.8% from year-ago levels.