Rising mortgage rates put a damper of California home sales last month, according to new numbers out from the California Association of Realtors. CAR found that existing-home sales were down 10.4 percent last month to the lowest sales level since February 2008 and the largest year-over-year decline since December 2007.
According to CAR, existing-home sales totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 274,040 in October, down 36.9 percent from a year ago. It was the third time in the last four months that sales dropped more than 30 percent from the year-ago level.
“While October’s sales and price results were weaker than what we’ve experienced in the past couple of years and could slow further in the upcoming off-season, the market bottom could be in sight,” said new CAR President Jennifer Branchin. “Homes are still selling relatively quickly at 23 days on the market, one in four homes is selling above list price due to limited inventory, and with median price growth remaining positive in four of the five price segments, home prices are holding up reasonably well.”
California’s median home price declined 2.5 percent in October to $801,190 from the $821,680 recorded in September. The October price was 0.3 percent higher than the $798,440 recorded last October and was the smallest year-over-year price gain in 29 months.
At the regional level, sales continued to fall sharply from last year, with four of the five major regions falling more than 35 percent from last year. SoCal had the biggest annual drop in sales at 40.8 percent, as every county within the region experienced a sales decline of more than 30 percent in October.
The San Francisco Bay Area also posted a sales decline of more than 35 percent from last year. The Far North recorded the smallest sales declines of the five major regions, down 19.1 percent, but it also has been dropping by double-digits for five straight months.
Stay tuned for California Listings’ regional breakdown for both SoCal and NorCal.