SoCal Home Prices Edge Over $500,000

By: Jesus Sanchez, Times Staff Writer: LA Times
Southern California's median home price edged over the $500,000 level for March despite deteriorating sales, according to a real estate report released today.

It was the first time the regional figure had crossed $500,000, though some counties had reached that level before.

The median sales price for all residential properties in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties jumped 14.1% from the same month last year to $501,000, according to the research firm DataQuick Information Systems.

Sales, however, dropped more than 9.7% on a year-over-year basis to 29,509 new and existing homes.

San Bernardino County led the region with a 23.2% spike in the median sales price to $367,000. San Diego County, which has experienced a pronounced slow down in sales activity, came in last with an increase of 5.7% to $504,000.

Orange County, the Southland's most expensive market, posted a 10.3% increase in the median sales price to $623,000. The median price rose 14% in Ventura County to $610,000.

The Los Angeles County median sales price, which was reported last week, climbed 15% to $506,000.

"We still expect the annual increase in median to go down into the single digits sometime this summer," said DataQuick President Marshall Prentice in a statement. "San Diego County is still the market furthest along in this cycle. Price increases there have been below ten percent the last eleven months."