Calif. Home Sales Surge in March

Sales of homes and condos in California surged in March as buyers sought to lock in low mortgage rates, driving demand and sending the state’s median price for residential properties to a record $353,000, an analyst said Tuesday.

The figure for March represents a 21.7% jump from $290,000 a year earlier and a 5.1% increase from $336,000 in February, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The volume of residential properties sold in March was also the largest DataQuick had on record. A total of 56,150 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide, up 16.4% from 48,250 a year earlier and up 39% from 40,400 in February.

An increase from February to March is normal for the season.

“More people want to buy than there are homes for sale. That pushes prices up,” DataQuick President Marshall Prentice said. “We’re moving into the summer season, and with interest rates edging up, the market will probably be even more pressured.”

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,528, up from $1,295 for March 2003.

The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages in March was 5.38% to 5.59%. Last week, rates averaged 5.89%, the highest level for 30-year mortgages this year, according to Freddie Mac.

Consumer prices rose by 0.5% in March, a sign that inflation was picking up. That raised speculation among some economists that federal regulators would raise interest rates this summer.

“The perception is that interest rates may edge up a bit, creating an added element of urgency,” Prentice said.

Los Angeles County’s median sale price -- the point at which half the homes sell for less and half for more -- rose 29.3% in March to $375,000, the highest increase in the state. The highest median sale price for the month was $672,000 in Marin County. The second-highest was San Francisco County at $595,000, followed by Santa Clara County at $520,000.