Home prices in Orange County rebounded in February and are back near their record high, though sales volume continues to slow.
The median price of a home sold in OC was $617,000 in February, up 11% from a year earlier according to La Jolla-based market tracker DataQuick Information Systems, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates.
The February result is up 6% from a month ago, when a heavy dose of condominium buying dropped the January median price down to $582,000. The record high price in OC was set in December at $621,000.
The number of homes sold in the county continued to slow in February, dropping 8% from a year ago. A total of 2,672 homes were sold in OC last month.
February sales totals were up 3% from January, which traditionally is one of the slowest months of the year. Last month was the slowest January since 1997.
Statewide trends mirrored OC results in February.
The median price paid for a home in Southern California was $480,000 last month, a new high by $1,000. The February median price was up 2% from January, and 13% higher than a year ago.
The 19,905 homes sold in February in Southern California was the lowest total in five years. There were 20,085 Southern California homes sold in January.
Ventura County remains the most expensive in the region by median price at $618,000, though that’s down from the $630,000 price seen two months ago.
San Bernardino showed the biggest yearly gain in housing prices, with the $373,000 median price for February representing a 28% increase.
The typical monthly mortgage payment paid by Southern California buyers in February was $2,251, up 18% from a year ago.
