Website design By BotEap.comThe median home price reached $506,000 in Los Angeles County in March 2006, breaking the half-million dollar mark for the first time in history. That figure is double what the median price in the area was just four years ago.

Website design By BotEap.comThe good news for prospective homebuyers in other areas of the country is that half a million dollars can still buy a good chunk of housing in much of the rest of the United States. For example, although central Oregon is experiencing a significant increase in both population and home prices, the median price is lower than that of Los Angeles County, although it is still higher than a significant number of other country areas. For example, the median home price in Bend increased more than 30% in 2005, to $327,500. Another central Oregon city, Madras, saw a 187% increase in the number of home sales in the first quarter of 2006.

Website design By BotEap.comThe main force driving the home price boom in Oregon, as well as states in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest, is the influx of Californians who are selling their most expensive homes and moving to areas where they can normally buy more. houses for less money. Another factor is that with rising values, many local homeowners are cashing in the equity in their homes and trading them in for more expensive ones.

Website design By BotEap.comAnother area that is growing significantly is San Antonio, Texas, where the median home price increased more than 9% over the past year to $131,900. However, the San Antonio real estate market mirrored that of Los Angeles County, with few sales despite generally higher prices. There is also a considerable amount of new home construction in that area.

Website design By BotEap.comSome areas of California are booming as a result of skyrocketing prices in Southern California. One of the busiest is the area that includes Riverside, Ontario and San Bernardino, which has seen an unprecedented increase in new residents between 2000 and 2004, of which approximately 46,000 were transplants from the greater Los Angeles area.

Website design By BotEap.comIn the southeastern United States, Florida also continues to grow at a rapid rate, fueled in large part by an influx of former residents of the New York City metropolitan area. In fact, approximately 41,500 people moved from that area to Orlando, Miami and Tampa in 2004. One of the reasons the area is experiencing such rapid growth is employment opportunities. The area’s job scene was once dominated by Disney World, but that’s no longer the case.

Website design By BotEap.comCopyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher