The median price of an existing, single-family home in California rose for the seventh consecutive month in September to $296,090, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ most-recent sales and price report.

Home sales also increased in September, rising 2.1 percent compared with August. If home sales maintain their current pace, 530,520 units will be sold in California in 2009.

The market’s momentum continued in September, as many home buyers took advantage of the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers. The success of the federal tax credit is clear. Nearly 70 percent of first-time home buyers report that the tax credit was ‘the most important’ or a ‘very important’ factor in their decision to buy a home.

C.A.R. is calling for the U.S. Senate to swiftly adopt the Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson amendment, which would extend the federal tax credit through June 30, 2010, remove the first-time buyer requirement and extend the credit to all home buyers, and increase the qualifying income limits so more families are eligible for the credit.

A new milestone was reached in September, when five C.A.R. regions reported positive year-to-year increases in the median price, the first such increase since January 2008. September also marked the first single-digit decline in the year-to-year median price since October 2007, after 22 consecutive months of double-digit decreases, leading many to believe the state’s median prices are leveling out.

C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in September 2009 was 4.2 months, compared with 6.5 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.06 percent during September 2009, compared with 6.04 percent in September 2008, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.59 percent in September 2009, compared with 5.14 percent in September 2008.

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