Southern California home prices jumped in December, reaching the highest level in more than nine years.
An improving economy and a shortage of homes for sale propelled prices up 6.8% from a year earlier, real estate data firm CoreLogic said Tuesday. December’s median price of $470,000 was up 1.1% from a month earlier.
In Los Angeles County, the median price last month climbed 4% from a year earlier to $520,000; in Orange County, 5.3% to $665,000; in Ventura County, 5.9% to $519,000; in San Bernardino County, 8.7% to $299,000; in Riverside County, 8% to $345,750; and in San Diego County, 4.2% to $495,000.
The rise in last month’s six-county median price comes after prices stayed largely flat since June, when the regional median hit $465,000 — which at the time was a nine-year high.
BeachTalk 