Home sales in Riverside County jump by 10.2 percent in November

RIVERSIDE - The number of homes sold in Riverside County jumped by 10.2 percent in November, compared to the same month a year ago, while prices rose by 17.4 percent, a real estate information service announced today.

A total of 3,274 homes changed hands in Riverside County last month, compared to 2,971 in November 2011, according to DataQuick. The median price of a home in the county in November was $229,000, up from $195,000 in November 2011.

A total of 19,285 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November, according to DataQuick. That was down 8.5 percent from 21,075 in October, and up 14.2 percent from 16,884 in November 2011.

The median price for a Southern California home was $321,000 in November, up 1.9 percent from $315,000 in October and up 16.7 percent from $275,000 in November 2011.

''The government's offered people an amazing gift in the form of extraordinarily low mortgage rates,'' DataQuick President John Walsh said. ''But that's not the only thing fueling these sales gains. Investor activity and cash purchases remain unusually high, and more buyers feel confident about their jobs, the economy and the likelihood housing prices have bottomed and are likely to rise.''