SAN DIEGO -- The median price of an existing home in San Diego in May increased 10.3 percent to $408,480. Sales fell 2 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, a trade group reported Wednesday.

Compared to April, the median housing price in San Diego rose 3.4 percent in May, the California Association of Realtors reported.

Statewide, the median was $369,290, up 15.6 percent from the $319,590 logged in May 2002.

"Low mortgage interest rates, coupled with continued strong demand for California real estate, drove the median price upward in May," said the association's president, Toby Bradley.

"But with the median price of a single-family home posting double-digit increases in 22 out of the past 24 months, affordability concerns are increasing for many families in California," said Bradley.

Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 5.48 percent during May, down from 6.81 percent a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 3.66 percent in May compared to 4.79 percent a year earlier.

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 27 in May, up from a revised 24 for the year earlier.