Housing sales rise in state

Home sales in California increased in February, but the median price continued to slump.

California home sales were up in February but median prices remained mired in the muck of a lackluster housing recovery.

Real estate firm DataQuick estimated 29,630 houses and condominiums sold in the Golden State last month, an increase of 8.5% from the same month a year earlier. Sales have improved every month for the last seven months, and February was the strongest for a February since 2007.

The median home price for the state fell 2% from the same month a year earlier, hitting $239,000. Many experts predict that housing will bottom out this year, but prices are likely to remain muted with high unemployment, tight credit and a steady supply of foreclosures. The median is the point at which half the homes in the state sell for more and half for less.

“Drum-tight credit conditions continue to undermine housing, along with negative equity and the various uncertainties plaguing would-be buyers,” John Walsh, president of San Diego-based Dataquick, said.

Investors played a big role, with absentee buyers snapping up a record share last month in Southern California and the Bay Area. Excluding sales of new homes, absentee buyers purchased 29.7% of all homes in Southern California and 26% of all homes in the Bay Area.

The Southland’s median home price fell 3.7% from the same month a year earlier to $264,750 while sales jumped 8.4% to 15,573 houses and condominiums. In the Bay Area, the median price fell 3.6% to $325,500 while sales surged 14.2% to 5,702.