Buyers scooped up 3,692 single family homes and condos in San Diego last month, compared to 3,242 in May and 3,077 in June 2008.

Median home prices increased to $314,000 in June, compared to $295,000 in May, and $290,000 in April. Median prices are still down significantly on the year compared to $370,000 in June 2008 and $380,000 in May 2008.

Across the region, the number of home sales hit its highest level in 30 months, according to DataQuick.

Buyers are getting bargains on higher-end homes and securing more “jumbo” financing above $417,000. Resales of houses priced at more than $500,000 rose to 19.6 percent of all existing houses sold in June, up from 18 percent in May but still down from 29 percent in June 2008. The shift toward higher-end markets has increased the region’s median sale price. Credit is also opening up. Homes purchased with jumbo mortgages rose to 14.8 percent in June.
Before the credit crisis in August 2007, nearly 40 percent of homes across Southern California were financed with jumbo loans.

DataQuick President John Walsh said rising median prices are a sign that the market is moving back toward a more normal distribution of sales across the price spectrum. However, it also shows distress among higher-end properties.

Investors continue to make up a significant percentage of the market, accounting for 18.6 percent of purchases last month, up 16.1 percent from June 2008.

Foreclosure sales, while huge, eased downward for the third consecutive month, representing 45.3 percent of Southland resales last month, down from 49.7 percent in May and a peak of 56.7 percent in February this year.

MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver, Canada-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates.

— Ned Randolph