Home Prices in L.A. County, Altadena Up

The median price of a home in Los Angeles County jumped by 25 percent in September, compared with the same month a year ago, while the number of homes sold rose by 5 percent, a real estate information service announced today.

According to DataQuick, the median price of a Los Angeles County home was $425,000 last month, up from $340,000 in September 2012. A total of 6,496 homes were sold in the county, up from 6,188 during the same month last year.

In Altadena, the average home value is $628,900, a 26.6 percent jump from a year ago, according to Zillow.com. 

In Orange County, the median price was $550,000 last month, up 22.2 percent from $450,000 in September 2012. The number of homes sold increased by 8.9 percent, from 2,677 in September 2012 to 2,916 last month.

A total of 19,112 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, according to DataQuick. That was down 17.1 percent from 23,057 in August and up 7 percent from 17,859 in September 2012.

The median price for a Southern California home was $382,000 in September, down 0.8 percent from $385,000 in August but up 21.3 percent from $315,000 in September 2012.

"We've seen a fairly normal downshifting in the housing market this fall," DataQuick President John Walsh said. "Couple that with the rise in inventory, higher mortgage rates and the ongoing, gradual drop in purchases by investors and cash buyers and it's no wonder prices have leveled off in recent months."

- City News Service, Hazel Lodevico-To'o contributed to this report.