Median Price Posts 14.3 Percent Gain in First Quarter, Sales Post 3.5 Percent Decline, C.A.R. Reports.

LOS ANGELES -- LOS ANGELES, May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California hit a new record during the first quarter of 2003, rising 14.3 percent to $337,780, the California Association of REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.) reported today.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California amounted to 573,030 for the first quarter of 2003 at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, a 3.5 percent decrease from 593,620 in the first quarter of 2002.

C.A.R.'s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes for the first quarter of 2003 was 3.2 months, compared to 2.6 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 5.83 percent during the first quarter of 2003, down from 6.97 percent in the first quarter of 2002, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 3.87 percent in the first quarter of 2003, down from 5.08 percent in the first quarter of 2002.

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 31 days in the first quarter of 2003, compared to 35 days for the same period a year ago.