The median price of a home in San Diego County rose slightly last month to $290,000, compared to $285,000 in March, figures released today show.
Despite the monthly rise, the median price of a home in the San Diego area in April was down 27.5 percent from the $400,000 median price during the same month last year, La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick reported.
Home sales were up last month, according to DataQuick.
A total of 3,375 homes in San Diego County sold in April, compared to the 3,020 that changed hands in March, according to DataQuick. Home sales are up 20.1 percent from April 2008, when 2,809 homes sold locally.
According to DataQuick, 20,514 homes sold in the six-county Southern California region in April, up 5.2 percent from the 19,506 homes sold in March and up 31.4 percent from 15,615 sold a year ago.
Southern California homes also sold at a faster pace than a year ago for the 10th consecutive month, as first-time buyers and investors continued to target distressed inland properties, according to DataQuick.
After holding steady the first three months of this year, however, the median sale price in Southern California fell slightly from March.
Across Southern California, the median price paid for all homes last month was $247,000, down 1.2 percent from $250,000 in March and down 35.8 percent from $385,000 a year ago, according to DataQuick.
According to DataQuick, home prices are flattening out or falling more slowly in recent months.
"In many markets we've seen signs you'd expect to see not long before prices would normally stabilize: robust investor and first-time buyer activity, 10-plus months of year-over-year sales gains, and less price erosion, if any," said John Walsh, DataQuick's president.
Walsh cautioned, however, that layoffs and a new round of foreclosures could threatened home price stability.
