Home Prices, Sales in State Continued Sharp Rise in May

California home prices and sales continued to soar ahead in May, with the statewide median price of a resale home jumping 10.5%, according to a real estate report released Thursday.

Home prices also moved up strongly across Southern California, with six of the eight major regions showing gains over a year ago, according to the California Assn. of Realtors.

Resale prices in Orange County, which are not seasonally adjusted, continued to rise with the median price climbing 16.2% to $263,230.

The Los Angeles area showed a 16.6% increase in the sales rate while the median resale price rose 7.2% on a year-over-year basis to $186,580.

The Palm Springs area posted the highest price increase in the Southland, with the median resale jumped 23.5%, to $150,190.

Statewide, single-family home resales in May totaled 646,470 properties on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate. The May rate--which does not include new homes or condominiums--represents a nearly 20% increase from the same month last year.

The median price of a resale home sold in May increased 10.5% from the same month last year to $204,440, according to the real estate association.

The state’s housing market continued to benefit from low mortgage rates, high consumer confidence and a robust economy, housing observers said.

“Despite the clouds forming over Asian economy, the housing market in California is performing remarkably well,” said Tim Corliss, president of the real estate association. “There are only faint signs of the impact of the Asian crisis on the Northern California housing market thus far.”

Four of the 10 California communities with the highest median prices in May were located in the Los Angeles area: Pacific Palisades, $705,045; Beverly Hills, $690,000; Westside of Los Angeles, $660,000; and San Marino, $650,000.

San Diego and Ventura counties also posted strong gains in May. The median resale price in San Diego rose 11.2%, to $206,330 while prices jumped 11.5% in Ventura, to $239,230.

The Inland Empire showed it still is lagging the region’s urban counties. The median resale price in the Barstow-Victorville area was unchanged, at $97,280, while prices in the Riverside-San Bernardino area advanced 6%, to a median $122,400.

The Santa Barbara area experienced the only drop in the Southland. Prices fell 11.4% in May, to a median $220,830.