House prices on the rise

After tumbling in the years following the 2008 housing-market crash, home prices have begun to climb again in California. In the last three years the median sale price for a home in the state has risen by $120,000 to $393,000 (as of January 2015). In many areas, that means buying a home is out of the reach of most families. Here’s a sampling of median home prices in a recent Zillow report (on 245 California cities with a population of 30,000 or more) and the amount of household cash needed (assuming a 20 percent down payment) to purchase.

City / Home price / Cash needed / Rank

Oroville / $153,125 / $30,000 / 244

Redding / $219,950 / $44,000 / 218

Sacramento / $225,700 / $45,000 / 215

Chico / $256,550 / $51,000 / 202

Davis / $511,750 / $101,000 / 86

S.F. / $963,250 / $191,000 / 14

Palo Alto / $2,235,000 / $442,000 / 1

Sources: www.sacbee.com and Zillow