SAN DIEGO (AP) — The median price of a home in California approached a four-year high in July as buyers snapped up more expensive properties and foreclosed houses made up a smaller part of the sales mix, a research firm said Wednesday. The median price for new and existing houses and condominiums in the state reached $281,000 last month, up 11.5 percent from $252,000 in July 2011, DataQuick said. It was the highest median price since hitting $283,000 in September 2008 and the fifth straight month of annual gains, but still far below a peak of $484,000 in early 2007.