California Home Sales Stay Strong in March

Buoyed by strong consumer confidence despite recent stock market swings, sales of existing California homes continued their steady climb in March. Median home prices also gained steam last month. Sales of existing single-family homes totaled 562,090 in March, a 6.8% gain over the 526,510 existing homes sold during the same period a year ago, according to the California Assn. of Realtors and Transamerica Intellitech. These figures represent what the total number of homes sold during 2000 would be if sales maintained the March pace throughout the year. The median price of an existing single-family home in the state last month was $238,870, up 12.5% from the $212,330 median for the same period last year, the report found. Reflecting a worsening housing affordability crunch in California, about 86% of the cities and communities that report information to CAR recorded increases in median home prices in their area over a year ago.