"The median price of a home in California has posted double-digit gains every month for the last 16 months and hit a new record of $352,780 in March," said California Association of Realtors President Toby Bradley. "While consumers remain concerned about the general direction of the economy, buying a home continues to be a safe haven for California families."

Closed escrow sales of existing single-family detached homes in California totaled 567,610 in March at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by the association from 90 local Realtor associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity decreased 3.2 percent from the 586,230 sales pace recorded in March 2002.

"Year-to-date sales have declined 3.5 percent compared to last year's record sales pace, in line with our expectations," said the association's vice president and chief economist, Leslie Appleton-Young.

The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2003 would be if sales maintained the March pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The median price of an existing single-family detached home in California during March 2003 was $352,780, a 15.3 percent increase over the revised $305,840 median for March 2002. The March 2003 median price increased 7.8 percent compared to February 2003's revised $327,120 median price.

Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 5.75 percent during March 2003, down from 7.07 percent in March 2002, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 3.76 percent in March 2003 compared to 5.09 percent in March 2002.

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 28 days in March 2003, unchanged from a revised 28 days for the same period a year ago.

Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during March 2003 were: Pacific Palisades, $1,187,500; Manhattan Beach, $937,500; Burlingame, $881,000; Malibu, $865,000; Beverly Hills, $857,500; Orinda, $820,000; Coronado, $795,000; Laguna Beach, $795,000; Carmel, $742,500; and Lafayette, $740,500.

Information provided in this column is presented by the Realtor members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors at www.silvar.org. Send questions on any topic to jnewton@jnpr.com.