A.V. HOME VALUES CLIMB LANCASTER PRICE HIKE 10TH LARGEST STATEWIDE.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Home prices are continuing to climb in the Antelope Valley, rising 46.7 percent in Lancaster and 37.5 percent in Palmdale over the past 12 months, a Realtors organization said.

Lancaster's price rise was the 10th largest percentage statewide, behind several Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area communities, Desert Hot Springs near Palm Springs, West Hollywood and San Juan Capistrano.

``The rise in property prices in east Lancaster has been remarkable over the last year. We're seeing prices we thought we'd never see again, which is delightful,'' said Dana Haycock, president of the Greater Antelope Valley Association of Realtors.

The average home sale price in Lancaster jumped from $75,000 in December 1999 to $110,000 this December, and in Palmdale from $84,000 to $115,500, the California Association of Realtors said.

The Lancaster jump meant that city is starting to catch up with prices in Palmdale, which last summer ranked No. 9 on the state top 10 list.

Average prices in November were $101,000 in Lancaster and $115,000 in Palmdale.

Statewide, the median sale price climbed 10.7 percent to $249,370 in December. Average Lancaster and Palmdale home prices remain the lowest in Los Angeles County.

The top prices in the state were in Los Altos in Santa Clara County. The average price there was $1.3 million.

The California Association of Realtors report, generated in conjunction with Real Estate Solutions, covered both new and existing house sales and condominiums.

Haycock says she sees homebuyers more confident that if they buy a home it will retain its value and they will be able to sell it - a change from the early and mid-1990s, when thousands of homes went into foreclosure when homeowners couldn't sell them for what they owed.

Local real estate officials say the dwindling number of foreclosed homes is helping boost prices.

Sales of repossessed homes - often priced low to sell quickly - depressed average sales price figures for years, but now vacant homes are filling up with families, and home sellers are able to get better prices.

``People have increased confidence in the market. They're willing to make the investment,'' Haycock said.

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Photo:

(color) With the Sierra Pelona Mountains in the background, a grader smooths ground for a new housing project on 27th Street East and Noll Drive in Acton. Antelope Valley home prices continue to climb.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer