Home Prices Continue To Rise

The median price of a single-family home in Riverside County edged up nearly 1 percent last month, following a pattern of general price increases throughout the state, the California Association of Realtors reported today.

The median home price countywide was $228,900 in September, compared to $227,740 in August, according to CAR.

On a year-to-year level, prices were 14.5 percent higher. In September 2011, the median price of a single-family dwelling was $199,890, CAR data showed.

Statewide, the median price was $345,000 last month, compared to $343,820 in August -- up three-tenths of a percentage point. The year-over-year increase was 19.5 percent. In September 2011, the median price of a single- family unit in California was $288,700.

It's the seventh straight month 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.

According to CAR's Unsold Inventory Index, the average home in California is on the market for 39 days before it sells. In Riverside County, it's 46 days.

Statewide, there is a 3.7 months supply of unsold homes, according to the CAR index.

"For the state, at 3.7 months of supply, unsold inventory is still less than half what it would be in a normal market," said CAR Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "As a result of the constrained supply at the moderate and lower end of the market, sales of homes priced under $200,000 dropped nearly 28 percent, and homes priced $200,000-$300,000 fell more than 15 percent in September.

"By contrast, in the upper price range, where inventory isn't as much of an issue, sales of homes priced $400,000-$500,000 rose more than 14 percent, and those priced above $500,000 increased more than 15 percent," she said.