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LOS ANGELES — The median price of a single-family home in California will hit a record $269,200 in 2001, according to a forecast by the California Association of Realtors. 

That’s an 8.5 percent price hike, which follows an estimated 12 percent climb in home prices for 2000. 

The lack of supply, rise in demand trend will also result in sales of existing homes falling 2.7 percent next year. That follows a projected 3 percent fall this year. 

“Limited supply is pulling the sales level down at the same time very robust demand continues to push prices higher,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, the association’s chief economist. 

The record prices are the result of California’s booming economy, which continues to create jobs at a more rapid pace than the rest of the country, Appleton-Young said.