The median price of a California home has appreciated at an average annual rate of 8.90% since 1968. In 2005, the median price gained another 19.70% to $540,000. The chart below graphically illustrates this trend.

Please note that the chart is constructed from the perspective of percentage change from one year to the next. Therefore the distance from $10,000 to $100,000 is the same as from $100,000 to $1 million because each represents a 10 fold increase.

The next chart illustrates the actual percentage change in the median home price for individual years. As you can see, most years are up and the down years in the early 1990s were less than 5%.




The following charts highlight median home price trends for selected markets in Northern and Southern California since the year 2000. Please bear in mind that the median home price calculation for local markets can be more volatile because there is less data to compare and because there are natural irregularities in value among the actual properties sold from one period to the next.

The median price of a home in Marin County has appreciated at an average annual pace of 12.14% since March of 2000.




The median price of a home in San Francisco has appreciated at an average annual pace of 9.61% since March of 2000.




The median price of a home in Westside, Los Angeles has appreciated at an average annual pace of 9.24% since March of 2000.




The median price of a home in Dana Point, Orange County has appreciated at an average annual pace of 16.09% since March of 2000.




As a reminder, “median” does not mean average but rather an equal number of properties sold above and below that price point. This price data includes single family homes and condominiums, both new construction and resales.

Price data are derived from the California Association of Realtors, Dataquick and Metroscan.


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