Briefly

* California households, with a median income of $53,240, are $56,080 short of the $109,320 qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $470,920 in California, according to a California Assn. of Realtors report for the fourth quarter of 2004.

* The Commerce Department reported construction of new homes and apartments rose 4.7% in January to the highest level in more than two decades.

* Total existing-home sales, which include single-family, condominium and cooperative sales, reached the second-highest pace in the fourth quarter of 2004, reported the National Assn. of Realtors.

* Overall mortgage applications fell 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, despite the third consecutive week of increased refinancings, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn.