CA Homesellers Reaped Record Gains in '03

The median gain for California homesellers totaled a record $150,000 in 2003, according to the California Association of Realtors.Leslie Appleton-Young, vice president and chief economist at CAR, said net cash to sellers has never been higher since the association launched its annual housing market survey in 1981. "Sellers in 2003 realized an 8% annualized rate of return, far exceeding the returns on many other investment options," the CAR chief economist said. The annual survey also found that rising home prices had caused the median downpayment for a home to increase by 20% in 2003, to $59,000. CAR can be found on the Web at http://www.car.org.