Valley home price tags up 24 percent from last May

Good news on home prices in the morning newspaper: "The Coachella Valley’s median home price continued its upward trajectory in May, jumping 17.8 percent year-over-year to $257,500 and marking the 11th straight month of double-digit increases, a new report shows. The median price – half sold for more, half for less – has risen substantially from 2011 and early 2012, when it typically hovered around $165,000 to $170,000, San Diego-based real estate information provider DataQuick reported. Ann Ritchie, executive vice president of Palm Desert-based California Desert Association of Realtors, said one reason for the upward trend in valley home prices is the continued decline of short sales and bargain bank-owned properties, which have fallen off dramatically over the past few years. Distressed properties accounted for 15 percent of single-family and 10 percent of condo sales valley-wide in May, far below levels that approached 60 or 70 percent during some months at the height of the recession. “The average price of a home sold through the Desert Area Multiple Listing Service rose 24 percent in May over May 2012,” said Ritchie.Low inventories are contributing to higher prices, she said. “The average price of a condo rose 10 percent in that same time period.” Miss Penny Lane says: Hooray!