Good news Southern California! Median home prices may have reached the bottom based on the rise of median values last month; it's most significant increase in over two years.
Prices in June rose 6.4% from May while less than half of the home sales being foreclosures; which is the first time that's happened in over nine months.
Home price declines have slowed dramatically, but many analysts have cautioned that the housing market still remains shaky and home prices may not rise substantially in many neighborhoods for months or even years.
While foreclosures have dominated the Southern California residential market for months, most of the foreclosure activity has been centered in distressed areas such as the Inland Empire. Amazingly, June's home sale price gains were pushed upward by sales of higher-end homes in the six-county region, which in turn boosted median prices.
In contrast, as prices have solidified at the low end of the market, they're still falling in some affluent communities which did not suffer the quick shock of subprime mortgage defaults and foreclosures that have pounded the housing market's lower end. Furthermore, high-end sales have stagnated as more affluent sellers held out for higher prices.
Now that these wealthier sellers are realizing the housing market is not going to just jump right back they are beginning to sell their homes for less than they had hoped which has brought in buyers from the suburbs that are looking for great deals.
The number of homes that sold last month for $500,000 or more rose to almost 20% of all homes purchased which is up from 18% compared to May.
For most of the year the median home sales price has hovered around $250,000 but since June's 6.4% increase the median price is now $265,000.