By CARI TUNA

California’s median home price rose 11.2% in February from a year earlier, while home sales in the state dipped for the second consecutive month, according to a report released Thursday by MDA DataQuick, a La Jolla, Calif., housing-data provider.

The median home price increased to $249,000 in February from $224,000 in February 2009, DataQuick said. The median price rose 0.8% from January 2010.

February home sales in California fell 3.8% from a year earlier to 28,111 sales, but were up 0.9% from January 2010, DataQuick said.

The percentage of existing homes sold last month that had been foreclosed on in the prior year fell to 44.3% in February from a high of 58.8% in February 2009, but increased from 43.8% in January 2010, DataQuick said.

In Southern California, the median home price rose 10% in February from a year earlier to $275,000, as home sales increased from year-earlier levels for the 20th straight month.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the median home price in February was $354,000, up 20% from February 2009, while home sales slid from year-earlier levels for the second straight month.