Home Prices in State Rise in July Despite Sales Dip

The median price of California houses and condominiums hit a record $384,000 in July even as the pace of home sales declined from the previous month.

The July median price represents a half-percentage-point increase over June’s $382,000 and a 20.8% jump from $318,000 a year earlier, real estate research firm DataQuick Information Systems said Friday.

The firm’s data cover all sales of new and resale houses and condominiums.

For the month, 63,700 homes were sold statewide, down 4.7% from June and up 7.7% from July 2003, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick.

A slight drop in sales volume from June to July is normal. Typically June and August see the largest number of sales in the year.

The number of homes on the market remains far lower than in recent years, but it doubled the last three months compared with the previous three months, said John Karevoll, DataQuick’s chief analyst.

“There was a sense of urgency on buyers that they needed to get in while the getting is good,” he said. “That hasn’t gone away, but it has eased back a bit.”

The sales decline in July was not uniform, however.

Sales eased in the more expensive markets of the state, such as Orange and Ventura counties, where the median home price was more than half a million dollars. But sales soared in inland areas such as San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where the median home price -- the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less -- was in the $260,000-to-$330,000 range.

The median home price in San Bernardino County jumped 31% in June, the biggest increase in the state. Marin County, whose median price led the state at $726,000, saw prices rise 9.8%, the lowest increase in the state.

“It’s hard to talk about a slowdown when you have the second-strongest month ever,” Karevoll said. “With the June number, we may have reached a peak that we may not reach [again] for a while.”

Still, the state’s highflying real estate market is not likely to cool off as long as the cost of borrowing remains cheaper than it has been in years.

Despite action by the Federal Reserve in June to raise interest rates, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage loan declined in recent weeks. In July, it ranged from 6.21% to 5.98%, according to Freddie Mac.

This week, it was 5.81%.