$635,000 median price for Orange County homes is smallest gain since 2015

Housing market momentum continued into 2017, with both home prices and sales showing small gains in January from year-ago levels, CoreLogic reported Monday.The median price of an Orange County home – or price at the midpoint of all sales – was...

$635,000 median price for Orange County homes is smallest gain since 2015

Housing market momentum continued into 2017, with both home prices and sales showing small gains in January from year-ago levels, CoreLogic reported Monday.

The median price of an Orange County home – or price at the midpoint of all sales – was $635,000 in January, according to the real estate data firm.

That may be down $30,000, or 4.5 percent, from December. But December-to-January drops are typical, reflecting the drop-off in escrows during the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season. January price drops have occurred in 27 of the past 29 years.

But last month’s median was up $16,000 or 2.6 percent from January 2016, marking the 57th straight month of year-over-year price gains. The 2.6 percent gain, however, was the smallest since October 2015.

Sales, meanwhile, rose 3.1 percent from year-ago levels to 2,351 transactions. That’s the highest sales tally for a January since 2013.

The trend is similar for the region as a whole.

The median Southern California home price was up 5.3 percent to $455,000, CoreLogic reported, while sales regionwide increased 5.4 percent to 15,422 homes. That, again, is the highest sales tally for a January since 2013.

Prices and sales were up year over year in all six counties in the region. Biggest gains:

• Los Angeles County posting the biggest price gain: The median there rose 7.1 percent to $525,000, CoreLogic figures show.

• San Bernardino County had the biggest sales jump, with transactions there up 17.8 percent to 2,163 deals closed.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7734 or jcollins@ocregister.co

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