"Concerns about rising mortgage interest rates helped propel potential buyers who were on the fence into the housing market last month," said Association President Toby Bradley. "As a result, sales in July hit their highest level this year. The median price of a home in California reached its greatest year-to-year increase in July, posting a 19.1 percent gain to a record $383,320."

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 27 days in July 2003, compared to 23 days (revised) for the same period a year ago.

At the national level, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist David Lereah said the sales jump is consistent with other housing data but that rising interest rates stimulated some buyers. "When mortgage interest rates first began to rise from record lows, it appears some buyers jumped into the market to take advantage of good affordability conditions before interest rates moved even higher," he said, noting mortgage interest rates have risen a full percentage point from their weekly low. "However, given the strong underlying demand for housing from a growing number of households, it's hard to gauge just how much 'fence jumping' may have accounted for the sales record."

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.