Local Home Prices Up by Seven Percent

By City News Service:

The median price of a home in Riverside County rose by 7.1 percent in December, compared with the same month a year ago, while the number of homes sold jumped by 13 percent, a real estate information service announced Wednesday.

According to CoreLogic DataQuick, the median price of a Riverside County home was $300,000 last month, up from $280,000 in December 2013. A total of 3,466 homes were sold in the county, up from 3,068 during the same month the previous year.

A total of 19,205 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, according to CoreLogic DataQuick. That was up 22.8 percent from 15,643 in November and up 4.3 percent from 18,415 in December 2013.

The median price for a Southern California home was $415,000 in December, up 0.7 percent from $412,000 in November and up 5.1 percent from $395,000 in December 2013.

“One month doesn’t make a trend, but December’s uptick in home sales might indicate renewed interest in housing thanks to lower mortgage rates and job growth in recent months,” said Andrew LePage, CoreLogic DataQuick analyst. “The gain came despite a continued decline in the share of homes sold to investors and cash buyers. If demand continues to build we’ll need more supply to keep up with it. One of the big questions hanging over the housing market is whether higher demand and home values will lead to a lot more people listing their homes for sale, as well as more new-home construction, which remains well below average.”

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