The median home price hit $506,000 in Los Angeles County in March 2006, climbing above the half million dollar mark for the first time in history. That figure is double what the median price for the area was just four years ago.

The good news for prospective homebuyers in other areas of the country is that a half million dollars can still buy quite a bit of home in much of the rest of the United States. For instance, even though Central Oregon is experiencing a considerable rise in both population and home prices, the median price is lower than LA County, although still higher than a significant number of other areas of the country. For instance, the median price for a home in Bend rose more than 30% in 2005, to $327,500. Another Central Oregon town, Madras, saw a 187% increase in the number of home sales in the first quarter of 2006.

The major force driving the boom in Oregon home prices, as well in Southwestern states and the Pacific Northwest, is an influx of Californians who are selling their more expensive homes and moving to areas where they can typically purchase more house for less money. Another factor is that with increasing values, many local homeowners are cashing in the equity of their homes and trading up to more expensive ones.

Another area that is growing significantly is San Antonio, Texas, where the median price of a home rose more than 9% over the past year to $131,900. San Antonio's real estate market mirrored that of LA County, however, with few sales, even though prices were higher overall. There is also a considerable amount of new home construction taking place in that area, as well.

Some 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 of new residents from 2000 to 2004, of which and estimated 46,000 were transplants from the Los Angeles metro area.

In the southeastern United States, Florida also continues to grow at a brisk pace, fueled in large part by an influx of former residents of the greater New York City area. In fact, an estimated 41,500 people moved from that area to Orlando, Miami, and Tampa in 2004. One reason the area is experiencing such rapid growth is employment opportunities. The area's employment scene was once dominated by Disney World, but that's no longer the case.

Copyright 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher