The median price of an existing Orange County home rose by more than $10,000 in March from February, spurred in large part by low mortgage rates and generally affordable prices, the California Association of Realtors said on Thursday.

The median price for an existing stand-alone OC home sold in March was $493,120, a 2% increase from February, and a nearly 11% increase from a year ago.

The number of sales here in March jumped 39% from a month ago, and was up about 15% from a year ago, the Realtor association said.

The association excludes condominiums from its median price figures.

Including condos, the median price of a home here in March was $432,000, a 3.5% increase from February and a 12% increase from a year ago, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates.

The median price of an existing stand-alone home in California was $301,790 in March, about an 8% increase from February and a nearly 21% increase from a year ago, according to the Realtor association.

That was the largest year-to-year median price increase seen in the state in five years, and was driven by tax credits that end in late April, as well as low mortgage rates that have attracted both buyers and investors, according to the Realtor association.

Statewide sales in March increased by 2.5% from a year earlier, but were down the same percentage when compared to February.