Southern California home prices rise 8.6%

Last month's increase, compared with January 2009 data, is attributed to the sale of pricier homes and fewer steeply priced foreclosure properties.

The median is $271,500.

By Alejandro Lazo
February 16, 2010 | 10:19 a.m.

Southern California home prices rose 8.6% in January when compared with the same month a year prior, according to data released Tuesday, as fewer steeply discounted foreclosure properties sold and pricier homes made up a bigger part of the mix.

It was the second consecutive month that the median increased on a year-over-year basis.

"Year-over-year prices aren't falling anymore," said Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "That is a legitimately positive sign."

The median price for a home in Southern California was $271,500, down 6.1% in January from December, attributable in part to the higher percentage of cheaper Inland Empire homes that sold in January than in December.

A total of 15,361 homes sold in the month of January, an increase of only 0.9% over the same month one year ago when the market for lower-end, bank-owned properties began to take off, according to MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm.

Sales also dropped off 31.2% in January compared to December. A decline in sales between December and January is normal and, on average, sales have fallen 28.4% between those two months, DataQuick said.

The number of foreclosures as a percentage of the resale market ticked up slightly in January. Foreclosure resales made up 42.1% of all sales of previously owned homes in Southern California, up from 39.6% in December but down from 56.4% in January 2009.

alejandro.lazo@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-h ... 7903.story