California Home Sales Down In March

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 267,470 in March, according to data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR). This is a 7.8% slide from the revised 290,470 homes sold in February and a 4.4% slip from March 2023’s revised figure of 279,700 home sales.

The sales pace in March represented the 18th consecutive month where the activity level was below the 300,000-threshold. However, on a year-to-date basis home sales exceeded the level experienced in first quarter 2023 by 0.7%.

The statewide median price in March increased year-over-year by 7.7% from $793,260 one year earlier to $854,490 last month; the median home price was 6% higher than February’s $806,490. The year-over-year gain was the ninth straight month of annual price increases for the Golden State, while March marked the 11th time in the last 12 months that the median price for an existing single-family home was above $800,000.

Sales of homes priced at or above $1 million dollars in California was up by 9.9% from one year ago while the sub-$500,000 segment declined by 2.4%. Active listings at the state level increased on a year-over year basis for the second consecutive month, and the increase for the current month was the largest in 13 months.

“With mortgage rates reaching the highest levels since mid-November 2023, the housing market struggled to build on the momentum exhibited in the first two months of this year,” said CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “While sales could be hindered by higher rates in the coming weeks, the uptick in recent months suggests that we could see a bounce back in housing activity when the market digests the latest inflation report.”