Home sales hit record high

Southern California housing prices reached another record in April, according to data released this week.

The median price of an existing single-family home or condominium in the five-county region was $520,000, up $1,000 from the previous record set in March, CoreLogic in Irvine reported.

That was a 7.2 percent increase compared with April 2017, when the median price was $485,000. April was the 73rd consecutive month that the Southern California home market experienced a year-over-year increase.

Also last month, 20,118 new and existing homes and condominiums were sold in Southern California – the Inland Empire plus Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties – a 1.5 percent drop from April 2017.

Total sales were 23,564, a 14.6 percent drop below the average for April dating back to 1988, when the monthly housing survey began.