South Gate and Lynwood Among Cities With Jumps in Home Prices

California's median home price marked a full year of annual price gains in February, propelled by strong sales of higher-priced homes, with South Gate and Lynwood among the cities with increases.

The median home price in South Gate Park was $ 260,500 by February 2013 according to Zillow.com Home Value Index Price, an increase from the $

Lynwood's median home price for February 2013 registered at $246,400, which was a slight increase from the

According to the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors, a lack of inventory constrained total home sales.

"The demand for homes remains solid, but a shortage of homes for sale, especially in the lower-priced segments, is negatively impacting housing sales,'' association President Don Faught said. "Sales of homes priced above $500,000 continue to be strong, posting nearly 31 percent higher than a year ago, while homes priced below $300,000 were down 27 percent from last February due to fewer available homes for sale.''

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted 416,610 units in February, based on information collected from more than 90 local Realtor and listing services statewide.

Sales in February were down 0.9 percent from a revised 420,270 in January and down 5.9 percent from a revised 442,660 in February 2012.

The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2013 if sales maintained the February pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home slipped 1 percent from January's revised median price of $337,360 to $333,880 in February. February's price was up 24.2 percent from a revised $268,810 recorded in February 2012, marking a full year of annual price increases and the eighth consecutive month of double-digit annual gains.

The median sales price is the point at which half of homes sold for more and half sold for less; it is influenced by the types of homes selling as well as a general change in values.

The available supply of homes for sale was essentially unchanged from January, but was down markedly from a year ago. The February Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes was 3.6 months in February, up from 3.5 months in January, but down from 5.4 months in February 2012.

The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.

Increased market competition has significantly driven down the time on market compared with a year ago. Homes sold more quickly in February, with the median number of days it took to sell a single-family home decreasing to 34.2 days in February, down from 36.6 days in January and down from a revised 57.4 days for the same period a year ago.

- City News Service and Patch Staff

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