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Business & Tech

Homes Sales Down, Prices Up

The median home sales price in February in Murrieta was $246,500, according to a report, up .61 percent from February one year ago.

Home sales in Riverside County fell by 2.3 percent in March, compared to the same month a year ago, while prices rose by 1 percent, a real estate information service announced today.

A total of 3,756 homes changed hands locally last month, compared to 3,843 in March 2011, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick. The median price of a home in Riverside County in March was $200,000, down from $198,000 in March 2011.

A total of 19,953 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in March, according to DataQuick. That was up 28.1 percent from 15,573 in February, and up 2.8 percent from 19,412 in March 2011.

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Numbers by city of homes sold in March were not yet available.

In February in Murrieta, 210 homes sold for a median price of $246,500. This was up .61 percent from February one year ago, according to calculations made by DataQuick.

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In Temecula, 183 homes sold in February, with a median price of $273,000, up 1.10 percent from February one year ago.

"The year is young and lots could still change, but the results from the first big sales month of 2012 suggest the market is stuck in low gear," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. "This remains a very gradual—not to mention fragile— recovery. Last month's big gain in sales from February was seasonal. A lot more people get out and shop after the holidays and as spring approaches."

The median price for a Southern California home was $280,000 last month, up 5.8 percent from $264,750 in February but down 0.2 percent from $280,000 in March 2011, according to DataQuick.

—Maggie Avants contributed to this report

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