Home Prices in State Soar 4.6% During June
California home prices soared again in June, climbing 4.6% during the month to a median level of $167,428. That was up 19.1% from a year ago, when the average home sold for $140,620, industry officials said Monday.
Realty industry analysts blamed the statewide jump in prices on a shortage of homes for sale and buyer eagerness to close escrow before mortgage interests rates and asking prices go up again.
“This ‘Buy before it’s too late’ attitude has accelerated price increases to the highest level in a decade,” said Dale Colby, president of the California Assn. of Realtors, which released the monthly sales figures.
There was an almost 1% drop in the number of homes listed for sale in June, according the realtors’ figures.
The shortage of homes on the market was blamed partly on large numbers of homeowners who lack the resources to trade up deciding against selling their homes, opting instead to stay put and renovate, said Leslie Appleton-Young, economics research director for the industry group.
Highest in Orange County
In the Los Angeles area, prices jumped 4.8% in June, to an average price of $182,364, which was up 22.7% from last year’s June average.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, prices jumped 10.2%, to a median price of $209,687, a 21.1% increase over the June, 1987, price.
The most expensive average home price was in Orange County, where the June median of $211,038 represented a 4.1% monthly advance and a 24% increase over last year.
In the San Diego area, prices rose 3.8% in June, to an average of $147,670. That was 17.6% higher than the June average in 1987.
The Riverside-San Bernardino region experienced a 4.4% price increase, to an average of $108,567, a 12% jump from last year.
In a separate report, the National Assn. of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose in June to the highest level in 1 1/2 years.
Existing single-family homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.78 million units last month, a 5.3% increase over May. It was the fifth consecutive monthly increase and the highest level since homes sold at a rate of 4.06 million units in December, 1986.
