Community Corner

Median San Diego Home Price Up Nearly 20%

Home sales have also increased over the past year, according to a new report.

The median price of a home in San Diego County increased by 18.6 percent and the number of homes sold in the region rose by 16.2 percent in March, compared to the same month a year ago, a real estate information service reported Wednesday.

According to the DataQuick report, 3,762 homes were sold in San Diego County last month, compared to 3,237 in March 2012, while the median price was $380,000, up from $320,500 during the same time period last year.

A total of 20,581 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, according to DataQuick. Sales usually jump between February and March, and last month's figure was up 29.1 percent from the month before and represented a 3.1 percent increase from March of last year.

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The median price for a Southern California home was $345,000 in March, up 8 percent from $320,000 reported in February and up 23.4 percent from $280,000 in March 2012. According to DataQuick, last month's median price was the highest since July 2008.

"It's remarkable how much the housing scene has changed in a year," DataQuick President John Walsh said. "At this point in 2012 there were folks sitting on the market's sidelines waiting to be sure the recovery was real."

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A gradual shift occurred as the economy picked up and mortgage rates fell to historic lows, which coincided with increased demand, especially in middle and higher-priced neighborhoods where activity had been sluggish for several years, Walsh said.

"Price measures continue to rise for two simple reasons," Walsh said. "First, demand for homes has risen at a time when the available supply is unusually low. Prices have had nowhere to go but up in many areas. Second, the gains are especially high right now because of the change in market mix: Sales of lower-cost homes have fallen at the same time activity in the higher price ranges has risen."

-City News Service


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