The median price of a home in the Grand Junction area soared nearly 17 percent in the first three months of 2007, in turn ranking the region among the fastest appreciating markets in the country, according to a report released Wednesday.

The median home price surged to $187,106 in the first quarter ended March 31 from $160,509 in the first quarter ended March 31, 2006, a Zillow.com survey found.

The median is the point where half the homes sell for more and half for less.

The report measured home prices in the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the cities of Fruita, Grand Junction and Palisade and the community of Clifton.

The percentage increase was the second highest in the country in the period, trailing only the Corvallis, Ore., region where the median price leaped 17.26 percent to $248,413.

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash., region ranked third with a 12 percent rise to $343,816 in the period.

Given existing market conditions, housing prices in the Grand Junction region should continue to rise barring some unforeseen event or steep correction brought on by an economic downturn.

“Demand is high and supply is very limited. That is going to keep driving up the (median) price,” said Kevin Borman, immediate past president of the Grand Junction Area Realtor Association.

Borman, who co-owns Advanced Realty of Grand Junction, said other factors are influencing the local market, including mortgage rates, which have been hovering around 6 percent.

He characterized the region as a “seller’s market.”

Breakout data showed that Clifton posted the largest percentage gain, up nearly 21 percent to $145,913 in the period. Fruita notched about a 20 percent increase to $199,417, the report found.

“The market in Fruita has been growing very, very quickly,” said Erika Doyle, broker and owner of Doyle & Associates Real Estate Services LLC in Grand Junction.

“We can’t even keep up with demand at this point.”

Palisade was up about 18.5 percent to $188,862, while Grand Junction’s median home price increased more than 16 percent to $193,545.

Some local mortgage brokers said the figures sound about right given loan volume and related data.

Dennis Edson, chairman of Unifirst Mortgage in Grand Junction, said the lender’s average loan size was about $195,000 in the first few months of 2007.

That is up roughly $20,000 when compared with the same period last year, Edson said.

He credited some of the growth to a hearty natural resources sector.

“I think this was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, first quarters we’ve had,” Edson said.

Of note, the most expensive metropolitan statistical area measured was San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif., where the median home price was $680,868 in the three-month period ended March 31.

The least expensive was the Peoria-Pekin, Ill., market at $90,116. The Zillow.com survey covered 46 metropolitan statistical areas.

Wyatt Haupt Jr. can be reached via e-mail at whaupt@gjds.com.