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According to the state Realtors group, California home prices rose 25% in the 12 months through November, the most in eight years, as demand rose in expensive coastal areas. The California Realtors Association said that the last time prices had a larger gain was in June of 2004. The median price of an existing, single family detached home was $349,300 last month, up from $279,910 a year earlier.

SFGate.com said:

In the Bay Area, the median home price was up 26 percent from a year earlier at $588,800, though it fell 0.7 percent from October, the Realtors group said.

In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the median was $327,840 last month, up 22 percent from a year earlier and 2.9 percent from October.

The median price in California was driven up by a decline in sales of lower-priced homes and an increase in transactions that involved mid- and higher-priced homes.

“The significant increase in price was due in part to the change in the mix of sales,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, the group’s chief economist. “Coastal markets, which tend to have high-end properties, accounted for a larger share of total sales and led to strong price gains overall.”

California homes sold at an annual pace of 518,290 last month, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, the association said. The figure is the total number of properties that would be sold during 2012 should sales maintain their November pace throughout the year. Sales dropped 4.9 percent from October.

Appleton-Young said it is likely that sales and and price will remain solid as we approach the new year.

-Bill at

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