Prices are up. Sales are down.
On Wednesday, DataQuick reported an 18 percent increase in the median sale price of all homes in Sacramento County from December 2011 to December 2012. The median rose from $155,000 to $183,000 in that time frame.
New homes in Sacramento County saw the biggest gain, with a nearly 20 percent jump in the median sale price from December to December, according to the San Diego-based information service. The median price of resale homes recorded a 17 percent gain in the same period.
The county's volume of sales decreased slightly, falling by 1.7 percent year-over-year. There were 2,040 homes sold in Sacramento County last month compared with 2,076 in December 2011.
Houses in Placer, Yolo, Yuba and Sutter counties also experienced sizable price gains.
The incredibly tight supply of homes for sale is a factor in both shrinking volume and rising prices. Investors continued to snap up foreclosures, while first-time buyers and move-up buyers sought to take advantage of historically low interest rates in December.
"It's mainly a supply issue. There just aren't enough homes on the market to meet the demand," said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. If more homes come on the market this year it could help "tame price appreciation," he said.
In the Bay Area, the median home price rose by the fastest rate in 25 years, climbing 32 percent from December to December, DataQuick reported.
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