"The median price of a home continued its run of double-digit price increases last month as buyers scrambled to purchase homes amid concerns of rising mortgage interest rates," said the association's president, Ann Pettijohn. "This unprecedented demand helped push the median price of a home in many regions in the state to record highs in March. And at $428,280, the median price for the state also hit a record high in March, compared to $351,130 just one year ago."

The median price of a home in the Central Valley, High Desert, Monterey, Monterey County, Northern California, Northern Wine, Orange County, Riverside/San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, North Santa Barbara County and Santa Barbara South Coast regions posted record highs in March, according to the association.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 590,220 in March at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected from more than 90 local Realtor associations statewide. Statewide home-resale activity increased 4 percent from the 567,610 sales pace recorded in March 2003.

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during March 2004 was $428.280, a 22 percent increase over the revised $351,130 median for March 2003. The March 2004 median price increased 8.4 percent compared to a revised $395,060 median price in February.

"Year-to-date sales are up 4.4 percent compared to the same period last year," said Leslie Appleton-Young, California Association of Realtors vice president and chief economist. "Along with the median price of a home, the inventory of homes for sale reached an all-time historic low of 1.6 months in March, while time on the market is at a record low of 26 days."

Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 5.45 percent during March 2004, down from 5.75 percent in March 2003, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 3.41 percent in March 2003 compared to 3.76 percent in March 2003.

The Multiple Listing Service median price and sales data for detached homes is generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of Realtors throughout the state. The median price represents closed escrow sales. The top 10 list is generated for incorporated cities with a minimum of 30 recorded sales in the month.

Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during March 2004 were: Beverly Hills, $1,500,000; Manhattan Beach, $1,404,250; Los Altos, $1,300,000; Calabasas, $1,120,000; Palos Verdes Estates, $1,100,000; Laguna Beach, $1,087,500; Saratoga, $1,038,000; Malibu, $1,005,250; Los Gatos, $1,003,000; Newport Beach, $975,000.

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.