Features

California home sales, prices rise in January

The Associated Press
Tuesday February 27, 2001

LOS ANGELES — The state’s booming housing market shows little sign of a slowdown despite the softening economy, a report released Monday by the California Association of Realtors shows. 

Sales of existing homes increased 6.6 percent in January compared with the same period last year, the report said. Sales were also up 6 percent in January over the previous month. 

The median price of an existing single-family home during January was $246,380, an 8.6 percent rise compared with the same time last year. The January median price decreased 1.1 percent from December. 

“Affordability remains a concern for most California households despite a decline in mortgage interest rates,” Leslie Appleton-Young, CAR’s vice president and chief economist, said. 

Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 7.03 percent during January, down from the 8.21 percent average of January 2000. 

It also took fewer days to sell a house last month. The median number of days was 29, compared with 52 days during January 2000. 

Supply continued to be tight, especially in Northern California. 

In the San Francisco Bay area, the median price of a single family house was $472,280 in January, compared with $389,380 one year ago. 

In Los Angeles, the median price in January was $217,710 compared with $199,000 one year ago.