BAY AREA home prices soared to a new high in April while home sales remained at near-record levels because of strong buyer demand and flat mortgage rates, a real estate information firm said Monday.

And for the second month in a row, the Bay Area surpassed Southern California when it comes to year-to-year increases in home values. The last time that happened was in 2001.

The median price for a Bay Area home was a record $586,000 last month, up 19.1 percent from $492,000 in April 2004, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems. The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

In Southern California, the median home price was $445,000 in April, up 15 percent from a year ago.

"Bay Area homes are going up faster in price than homes in Southern California for the first time in four years," DataQuick analyst John Karevoll said.

In San Mateo County, the median price for a home was $731,000 in April, up 19.8 percent from $610,000 in April 2004.

But while median prices showed a year-to-year increase, the number of homes sold in the Bay Area decreased by 10.2 percent. In April 2005, a total of 11,158 new and resale homes and condominiums changed hands, compared with 12,421 homes in April 2004.

However, in San Mateo County the year-to-year decline was much smaller — just 1.3 percent. In April 2005, a total of 850 new and resale homes and condominiums changed hands, compared with 861 homes in April 2004.

"We have to keep in mind that the year-over-year decrease in the sales count is largely because of a very, very strong April last year," Karevoll said. "April of last year was the strongest April we have in our database (which goes back to 1988). Last month was the second strongest (April)."

Overall, the inventory of homes for sale remains tight in the Bay Area, Karevoll said.

But there are places where inventory seems to be growing.

Dennis Pantano, president of Belmont-based Pantano Properties, has seen inventories increase in the last few weeks on the Peninsula.

"There are some areas that it's starting to go up a little, but it's not enough to meet demand," he said.

For example, the inventory of homes for sale in Belmont increased to 32 from 18 in the last month. But, Pantano noted, that's still a long way from a historical average of 70 to 80 homes being on the market in Belmont.

"You won't see prices go down until you have (more) inventory ... or until you see interest rates rise dramatically," he said.

Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages inched up to 5.77 percent last week after falling for five straight weeks, Freddie Mac reported.

Karevoll, the DataQuick analyst, said home prices in the Bay should start to stabilize in the summer.

"I think it will stay where it is for a little while. We're not going to see a frenzy, but you are going to see a stable market as far as home prices and home sales," he said.

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