Home Prices Up in April as Sales Soar

Home prices in California moved sharply higher last month amid soaring sales as more consumers were drawn into making purchases by favorable mortgage rates and a shrinking base of homes.

Median prices rose 26% from a year earlier to a record $321,950 in April, the California Assn. of Realtors said Tuesday. It was the second consecutive month that the median topped $300,000.

Sales of single-family homes jumped nearly 30% to an annual rate of 643,000 from a year earlier. The April increase was almost 10% from the previous month’s level.

In the U.S., median prices jumped 7.1% from a year earlier to $153,300, according to the National Assn. of Realtors, a Washington trade group. Sales rose 7% to near record levels on a yearly basis of 5.79 million units.

In the West, sales climbed 13% last month from a year earlier as prices surged more than 12% over the same period. Both increases were the highest percentage gains recorded nationwide.

Across the state, the inventory of for-sale homes in April dropped to a record low. The number of months needed to deplete homes on the market at the current sales pace was only two months, or half the amount from a year earlier, said Robert Bailey, president of the state group.

Daryl Strickland