Call it the Spring slide, as existing home sales dropped slightly across California last month.
According to new numbers out from the California Association of Realtors, April’s home sales were down 1.9 percent on a monthly basis from March, and down 8.5 percent from a year ago. The annual sales drop was the biggest decline in the last four months.
California’s median home price, however, set another record in April, coming in at $884,890. The April price was 4.2 percent higher than the $849,080 recorded in March and 8.7 percent higher than the $814,010 recorded last April.
The year-over-year increase was the smallest since June 2020.
“As rates remain on the rise, the sense of urgency to buy is keeping the market highly competitive, especially since housing inventory continues to stay well below pre-pandemic levels,” said CAR President Otto Catrina. “While we will likely see more listings come on to the market as we move further into the home-buying season, the housing shortage issue will likely persist throughout the rest of the year in major metropolitan areas, such as the Bay Area and the Southern California region.”
Regionally, home sales in all major California areas declined from a year ago. The San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California were the other two major regions with sales declines exceeding 10 percent from a year ago.
Check back with CaliforniaListings.com for full SoCal and NorCal breakdowns this week.