Southern California Home Sales Soar In July, Prices Steady

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Southern California's recovering housing market remains red-hot, with sales hitting an eight-year high for July.

The research firm DataQuick says 25,419 homes were sold last month in the six-county region.

That's up 17.6 percent from June and 23.5 percent compared to a year earlier. In fact, DataQuick says Wednesday that sales approached the historically normal level.

The median sales price was $385,000. That's the same as in June but up nearly 26 percent since July of 2012.

The median price has now risen year-over-year for 16 months in a row.

DataQuick President John Walsh says a lot of the sales increase can be chalked up to a rising inventory. He says people who've been underwater on their mortgages can now sell and make money or at least break even.

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