They're rising again.

Median sales prices climbed throughout most of the capital region in May – dramatically rising more than 9 percent for existing houses in Sacramento County – as the mix of home sales bent less toward bank repos and back toward higher-priced homes.

A count of 3,420 closed May escrows in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties represented a 14th month of year-over-year sales gains and hinted that some counties may have finally seen their lows for median prices.

Jeannie Louie of Sacramento was among the 3,400-plus buyers in May, scoring a $210,000 short sale property in Rosemont. The home, which sold previously during the housing boom for $350,000, came with solar power panels, a tankless water heater and another big perk.

"I'm a half-mile from my office," said the state employee and first-time buyer. "How great is that?"

La Jolla researcher MDA DataQuick said almost two-thirds of May's buyers in Sacramento County were first- timers and investors.

DataQuick reported that median prices – the point at which half cost more and half less – for new and existing homes combined rose from April to May in five counties:

• Sacramento, from $165,000 to $175,000.

• Amador, $180,000 to $209,500.

• El Dorado, $313,000 to $325,000.

• Nevada, $322,500 to $352,500.

• Yolo, $242,000 to $276,000.

Most were highs not seen in several months.

Prices remain unchanged in Placer County at $295,000 and fell slightly, from $170,000 to $165,000, in Sutter County and from $156,500 to $152,000 in Yuba County, DataQuick reported.

While rising prices offer tentative signs of improvement in the market, it may be early to celebrate. Banks in May issued 3,633 notices of default in the same eight counties to borrowers who have fallen behind on mortgage payments, said Bay Area-based tracker ForeclosureRadar. That beat the sales numbers, though not all are expected to become foreclosures.

But Edwin Yeh, chief executive officer of St. John's Capital Group in San Jose, is among investors keeping a close eye on that trend. His group has already paid wholesale prices directly to banks for 20 distressed homes in the capital region to sell to buyers. Yeh plans to buy dozens more, saying bank-owned homes won't begin to subside in the area landscape until well into 2011.

For the moment, there are fewer for sale. DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said rising prices clearly point to fewer repos distorting the market. He said, "It's not home appreciation. It's just getting back to a more normal distribution of sales across the home price spectrum."

Still, LePage said, "It could be we've seen the lowest median in Sacramento County."

Here's why:

• The market share of homes with foreclosure histories fell to 59 percent in May in Sacramento County. That's down from a January peak of 71 percent and follows several foreclosure moratoriums.

• Homes priced below $100,000 in Sacramento County fell to their lowest percentage since November 2008.

• Sales priced between $200,000 and $500,000 rose 13 percent from April to May in the capital county.

The capital region's generally rising median prices in May played out across California, DataQuick reported. Prices climbed 12.3 percent from April to May in the nine-county Bay Area. The six-county Los Angeles region, including San Diego, saw the regional median rise slightly for the first time since July 2007.

Call The Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102. Read his blog on real estate, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.