Local home prices continue to climb
The median price of a home in Riverside Countyincreased by 25.9 percent in July, compared with the same month a year ago,while the number of homes sold rose by 14.9 percent, a real estate informationservice announced today.
According to DataQuick, the median price of a Riverside County home was$265,000 last month, up from $210,500 in July 2012. A total of 4,076 homes weresold in the county, up from 3,546 during the same month last year.
A total of 25,419 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in LosAngeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties lastmonth, according to DataQuick. That was a 17.6 percent jump from 21,608 in Juneand up 23.5 percent from 20,588 in July 2012.
The median price for a Southern California home was $385,000 in July –the same as in June but up 25.8 percent from $306,000 in July 2012. Accordingto DataQuick, the June and July median prices were the highest for any monthsince April 2008, when the median was also $385,000.
“July home sales came in very strong, and we think a lot of theincrease in activity can be chalked up to a rising inventory of homes forsale,” DataQuick President John Walsh said. “The jump in mortgage rates acouple of months back might have spurred more buying too. The market continuesits re-balancing act, with more and more people who’ve been underwater now ableto sell their homes at a profit, or at least break even.”
