Home Sales, Prices Strong in Jan.

California home sales and median home prices posted strong gains in January, bucking a national trend of slowing residential real estate growth, according to a local trade group. Statewide home resale activity increased 6.6% from the 476,650 sales pace recorded in January 2000, said the California Assn. of Realtors and Real Estate Solutions, a real estate information service. Resale activity posted an increase of 6% in January compared with December. The median price for an existing single-family home in the state was $246,380 in January, up 8.6% from the year-ago period. Nationally, annualized sales of previously owned homes were at their lowest rate in a year, according to the National Assn. of Realtors. The annualized rate of home sales nationally fell to 4.65 million in January, down 6.6% from 4.98 million homes sold in December.