The California Association of Realtors has just released its monthly report for existing-home sales and it appears June gloom continued through July. According to CAR, home sales fell 3 percent from the month prior and were down 9 percent compared to July 2022. Sales of existing single-family homes in California remained below the 300,000-unit pace for the tenth consecutive month.
The good news: The yearly drop was the smallest since April 2022 and marked the first time in more than a year that sales dropped by less than 10 percent from a year ago.
“Despite slowing home sales in the past couple of months, housing demand remains resilient, and the market continues to be competitive,” said CAR President Jennifer Branchini. “Many in the market aspire to become homeowners and are actively looking to buy, but the shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates remain challenging headwinds for them.”
California’s median home price exceeded $800,000 in July for the fourth straight month and had its first year-over-year gain in nine months. The statewide median price dipped 0.7 percent from June’s $838,260 to $832,340 in July and was up 0.2 percent from a revised $830,870 one year ago.
Though sales were down, they did continue to moderate. At the regional level, four of the five major regions recording sales decreases of less than 15 percent from a year ago. The Far North region posted the biggest sales dip, down 16.7 percent, from a year ago, followed by the Central Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. The Central Coast was the only region that registered a decline of less than 10 percent, as two of the four counties in the region posted an annual sales increase.
Be sure and check out our compressive SoCal and NorCal monthly reports Friday at CaliforniaListings.com.