County home prices up 20% from a year ago

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The median price of a home in San Diego County jumped by 20.6 percent in September, compared with the same month a year ago, while the number of homes sold rose by 5.3 percent, a real estate information service said.

According to DataQuick, the median price of a San Diego County home was $422,000 last month, up from $350,000 in September 2012. A total of 3,383 homes were sold in the county, up from 3,214 during the same month last year.

A total of 19,112 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, according to DataQuick. That was down 17.1 percent from 23,057 in August and up 7 percent from 17,859 in September 2012.

The median price for a Southern California home was $382,000 in September, down 0.8 percent from $385,000 in August but up 21.3 percent from $315,000 in September 2012.

“We’ve seen a fairly normal downshifting in the housing market this fall,” DataQuick President John Walsh said. “Couple that with the rise in inventory, higher mortgage rates and the ongoing, gradual drop in purchases by investors and cash buyers and it’s no wonder prices have leveled off in recent months.”