Last Man Standing? Southern California Prices Still Rising

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LOS ANGELES -- News item: median home prices still rising in Southern California, now above $500,000. So you tell me: is this the part of the cartoon where the coyote has run off the cliff and is still running, in mid-air -- not yet falling, but doomed? Or is it the scene in the Western where the smoke is clearing and one gunslinger is still standing?

Here’s more from David Streitfeld’s quick turn on LATimes.com:
‘The median Southern California home price rose again in March, crossing the $500,000 mark for the first time, a real estate information service reported today.

‘The median price paid for a home in Southern California last month was $505,000, up 4.6% from March 2006, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems. The median is the point at which half the prices are higher and half are lower.

‘These numbers are surprising everyone, including us,’ said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. ‘The market has a lot more gas in the tank than anyone expected.’

One reason for the rise in the median price is that entry-level sales are dropping faster than move-up homes.

In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, traditionally a low-price haven, sales dropped nearly 50% from the torrid pace of March 2006. But even there, the median prices edged up, 0 .2% and 1.1% respectively.

Read the entire article here.

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