OC Home Prices Climb Steadily

In Orange County, home prices rose 3 percent between July and August, mirroring a climb in median prices statewide, the California Association of Realtors announced Monday.

In August, the Orange County median home price reached $567,710. That was 11.6 percent higher than August 2011, when the median was $508,910.

Statewide, the median price was $343,820 last month, compared to $333,860 in July – a 3 percent bump. The year-over-year increase was 15.5 percent. In August 2011, the median price of a single-family unit in California was $297,660.

It's the sixth straight month that median home prices have risen across the state, according to CAR. The median represents the point at which half of homes sell above a price, and the other half below it.

"The median price is gaining in part because of a shift in the mix of what is selling," said CAR Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "The increasing share of sales in higher-priced coastal markets at the expense of the inventory-scare distressed markets has been the primary factor in fueling the statewide median price.

"While higher-priced markets with a robust economy are experiencing a strong demand in equity sales and posting double-digit year-over-year price increases, sales in lower-priced markets that rely more on distressed properties were stagnant or even declined, as the inventory of (bank-owned) properties continues to wane."

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— City News Service