California home prices have increased for the first time in 16 months, according to Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors. Yesterday we took a look at average prices for the Northeast Area in Los Angeles, which includes an average of $435,500 for a single family home. The California average, however, jumped to $291,080 - a 9.2 percent gain from February, the largest monthly increase since March 2004. Tight inventory seems to contribute to the price jump.

The average number of days on the market for California homes also went from 57 days in March to 53.1 days.