State Home Sales, Prices Hit Record in ’99

Home sales and median home prices in the state hit a record high in 1999, according to the California Assn. of Realtors and Transamerica Intellitech, a real estate information service. Sales of existing single-family homes in California jumped a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6.4% last year to 537,830, up from 505,410 in 1998, according to CAR. The median price of an existing, single-family home rose 10.7% to $221,520 from $200,100 a year earlier, the survey found. The results capped the best year for residential real estate in California in nearly 30 years, said Richard F. Gaylord, CAR president.