Existing-Home Prices Up 12% in State in Dec.

The median price of an existing home in California jumped almost 12% in December to $221,500, from $198,120 in December 1998, according to the California Assn. of Realtors and research firm Transamerica Intellitech. Last December was the third consecutive month that CAR reported a double-digit rise in the state’s median home price, largely because the supply of available homes is shrinking. The last time the state saw three consecutive months of double-digit price rises was during the frenzied market of the late 1980s, CAR said. The rise in prices contributed to a slight downturn in existing-home sales in California to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 631,880 in December, down 3.6% from 655,310 for December 1998. Nationwide, sales of existing homes fell in December to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.06 million units, down 1.4% from the previous month, according to the National Assn. of Realtors.