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

Publication: PR Newswire

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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...

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