California’s housing market continued to boom in November, according to new numbers out from the California Association of Realtors.
November’s sales were up 4.7 percent on a monthly basis to 454,450, though down 10.7 percent from a year ago when 508,820homes were sold. Despite the fifth straight year-over-year sales decrease, statewide home sales maintained a 10.6 percent increase on a year-to-date basis.
California home prices continued to stabilize, dipping below the $800,000 benchmark for the second straight month. The statewide median price was down 2 percent from October to $782,480.
“California’s winter housing market remains unseasonably resilient, despite market challenges of a lack of inventory, modest interest rate increases, and ongoing affordability issues,” CAR Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine said. “While we believe the market will continue to do well in 2022 as the economy further recovers, a widening imbalance between supply and demand will put upward pressure on prices and create headwinds for housing affordability that could slow sales in the upcoming year.”
The report also notes that nearly two-thirds of all counties—32 of 51—tracked by CAR had a year-over-year decrease in closed sales in November, with 16 counties declining by more than 10 percent from a year ago. Looking at year-over-year price gains, 47 out of 51 had a gain in their median prices from last year. Thirty-eight of them increased by double-digits from a year ago, with San Mateo leading the pack at a price surge of 34.7 percent.