The median price was $289,000 in December, up 4 percent from a year earlier and 1.4 percent from November, MDA DataQuick said. The rise from a year earlier was the first in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties since August 2007, the San Diego-based research company said today in a statement.

The price increase was helped by a drop in foreclosure resales, which fell to 39.6 percent of all existing-home sales from 53.5 percent a year earlier, MDA DataQuick said. Home sales climbed in more expensive cities including Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Newport Beach, the research company said.

A total of 22,328 new and existing homes sold last month in the six Southern California counties tracked by MDA DataQuick, up 12 percent from a year earlier and 16 percent from November.

According to Andrew LePage, an analyst with MDA DataQuick, “For a long time, the high end wasn’t contributing much to sales. Just getting those high-end sales back into the mix can push the median up, especially when the low-end or foreclosure sales are tapering off.”

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Median national home prices down 7.7% in Q1 to $196,300.

Biggest Losers:

• Sacramento, CA down 29.2%
• Riverside, CA down 27.7%
• Lansing,MI down 26.9%

Biggest Gainers:

• Binghamton, NY up 11.8%
• Peoria, IL up 10.4%
• Spartanburg, SC up 10.1%

See the full video from CNBC.

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“More than 1% of all households slipped into foreclosure in 2007, as more borrowers failed to keep up on their mortgages. Nevada led the nation with the highest foreclosure rate, while California had the highest total number of foreclosures.”

Read the full story from MSN.com

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• And the Award for “Largest Decrease in Home Values” goes to…

1. Sacramento, CA (-18.5%)
2. Las Vegas, Nev. (-17.2%)
3. San Diego, Calif. (-17.1%)
4. Tampa, Fla. (-11.7%)
5. Los Angeles, Calif. (-10.7%)
6. Miami, Fla. (-10.6%)
7. Phoenix, Ariz. (-9.5%)
8. Jacksonville, Fla. (-8.7%)
9. Detroit, Mich. (-7.7%)
10. Atlanta, GA (-7.1%)

Click here for the full slideshow from Forbes…

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• Foreclosures up 75% in 2007

“Existing home sales fell 36 per cent in California and 30 per cent in Florida in the year to November 2007, against a national decline of 20 per cent. Median sale prices fell 12 per cent in California and 10 per cent in Florida, against only 3 per cent nationwide.

Both states have large inventories of unsold houses. Florida has a huge excess of condominiums and rising insurance premiums, while California is uniquely vulnerable to the dysfunction in the jumbo, or large denomination, mortgage market.”

Click here for the full story from MSN Money…

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