SAN FRANCISCO - Home sales in Southern California rose in December by 16.4 percent from November and by 12.1 percent from a year earlier, bolstered by gains in high-end and mid-priced markets, MDA DataQuick said on Tuesday.

A total of 22,328 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties last month, and the region's median home price rose to $289,000, marking increases of 1.4 percent from November and 4 percent from a year earlier, the real estate information service said.

(Reporting by Jim Christie, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Los Angeles California