California appears to have been the bright spot in an otherwise slow December when it comes to real estate across the U.S.
While the Golden State has a whole saw monthly sales increase by 1.1 percent, according to the California Association of Realtors, the annual numbers are a bit harder to swallow.
SoCal, in particular posted the biggest decline of all regions for the third month in a row, down 48.3 percent, when comparing existing-home sales to December 2021. On the monthly basis, however, sales were up in all but one SoCal County.
In Los Angeles, existing-home sales were up 3 percent, while the median sold price dipped back below $800,000 to $799,670. Neighboring Orange County got both a price and sales bump, rising 2.9 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively. The median sold price in the O.C. last month sits at $1,131,760.
Ventura home sales increased by 3 percent compared to November 2022, with prices down 4.9 percent. San Bernardino sales were up 2.6 percent, while San Diego noticed a plus, albeit small, with sales up 0.8 percent.
Riverside was the only SoCal county to see sales decline last month, down 1.7 percent. The median sold price slipped 0.9 percent to $575,000.