Orange County's median home price increased $15,000 in March, the second straight month that prices here have seen a monthly increase. The median price of a home here was $390,000 in March, a 4% increase from February, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. Median prices here still are down about 23% from a year earlier and are off nearly 40% from their all-time high in June 2007. Sales, driven by distressed deals in more affordable parts of the county, continue to increase from a year earlier. That is partly behind the rising median price. Sales increased 45% from a year earlier, with 2,413 sales in March. Sales here also were up 28% from February. The median price of a Southern California home was $250,000 in March, unchanged from the past two months and a 35% decrease from a year ago. Southland sales in March were up 52% from a year ago and up 28% from February. An increase from February to March is normal for the season, DataQuick said. Orange County counts the most expensive homes in the Southland, based on March’s median price. Ventura County is the next priciest, at $326,000, followed by Los Angeles County at $300,000. Foreclosure resales—where a foreclosure had occurred at some point in the prior year—made up about 55% of all Southland sales last month. Jumbo loans of more than $417,000 made up just 10% of Southland sales in March, down from 40% of sales two years ago.
By Mark Mueller: Orange County Business Journal Staff
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