CALIFORNIA MEDIAN HOUSING PRICES SHATTER BARRIER, REACH $300,000 PER HOME!

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

The median price of homes in California broke the $300,000 mark for the first time in March, with Tarzana and Canoga Park posting the greatest increases in home prices statewide, according to industry figures released Thursday.

The booming housing market sent the median price - half the prices above and half below - to a record $305,940 in March, up from $289,550 in February and $257,550 in March 2001, an 18.8 percent gain in 12 months. Sales of existing homes jumped 13.1 percent over a year ago.

The median cost of a Tarzana home in March hit $422,500, compared with $253,000 a year ago - a 67 percent increase. For Canoga Park, the median home cost was $190,000 in March vs. $125,000 a year ago - a 51.4 percent rise. Overall in Los Angeles, the median cost of a home hit $266,830 compared with $228,260 a year ago.

``When I see an increase like that I have to think there was an aberration or something,'' said Olga Moretti, president of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors.

In the San Fernando Valley, the shortage of homes for sale continues to drive prices higher.

Moretti cautioned that the surge in Tarzana home prices probably was due in part to a number of new developments in the hills of Tarzana that might have artificially inflated prices.

``And yet when supply is down, buyers will still be buying,'' she said.

Another key factor that's pushing the market to record levels is interest rates, which remain relatively low.

``The window of opportunity created by low mortgage interest rates is definitely a factor driving the market,'' said Leslie Appleton-Young, vice president and chief economist for the state Realtors group. ``But we expect upward pressure on rates to materialize by summer, which will impact the entry level.''

Adjustable mortgage interest rates were averaging around 5.09 percent in March, compared with 6.28 percent a year ago, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

That's good news for Tom Carnahan, president and owner of Carnahan Associates, a real estate company in Woodland Hills.

``Right now is absolutely a wonderful time to sell a house,'' Carnahan said. ``And I don't think we'll see the market go down significantly for a while.''

Coupled with interest rates, Carnahan said, the market should continue its pace well into the summer. But by fall, things could slow down a bit as interest rates continue to climb.

Sales of detached California homes totaled 586,230 in March on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, CAR reported.

That figure compares with 518,410 a year earlier and represents what the total number of home sales would be during the year if sales maintained their March pace throughout the year.

CARS' figures come on the heels of last week's home-sales announcement by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors.

Home sales in the San Fernando Valley also maintained a record-setting pace in March.

Single-family home sales jumped 12.7 percent over the same month in 2001, with a record 1,192 units closing escrow, the best showing in 13 years. This represents a strong jump of 38.4 percent over a year ago when real estate agents sold 861 homes. Condominium resales were only fractionally ahead of March 2001, with 457 recorded transactions, but climbed 29.8 percent over February's 352 sales.

``But you must remember the whole Valley is still always a little lower in March than other places in terms of sales,'' Moretti said. ``But those sales will continue to go forward, showing that the economy is recovering.''

The Santa Clarita Valley also set records, as 276 single-family homes were snapped up by consumers, up 10.8 percent from last March. Condominiums were similarly hot, with 160 closing escrow, up 15.1 percent from the same month last year. At the same time, available listings dropped to 568.

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ALL TIME HIGH

SOURCE: California Association of Realtors