As we previously reported, California’s existing-home sales rebounded in August following five months of declines. According to the California Association of Realtors, home sales totaled 313,540 transactions last month, up 6.1 percent compared to July 2022.
On a regional level, small improvements were welcome across most of Northern California, with both the Bay Area and Central Valley notching 9.9 percent sales increases.
In the Bay, San Mateo and Sonoma were the only two counties to see sales decline last month, 0.7 and 1.5 percent, respectively. Napa and Marin posted the biggest gains at 32.4 and 30.5 percent. Santa Clara was close behind with a 22.7 percent increase in existing-home sales.
On an annual basis, Bay Area homes sales were down 29.1 percent compared to the blockbuster summer of 2021.
In a bit of welcome news for buyers, prices also retreated across many of the state’s most expensive markets. Santa Clara saw median sale prices fall 5.6 percent to $1,650,000, while Alameda was down 8.2 percent to $1,230,000. In San Francisco proper, the median sale price in August hit $1,635,000, down 3.8 percent.
Sacramento also saw prices fall, down 2.7 percent, as sales were up 6.6 percent, while neighboring Placer County rebounded with a 9.5 percent sales increase.
The Far North had one of the smallest sales declines of California’s major regions, but continued to fall year-over-year by double-digits.
To see our report on SoCal’s August numbers, click here.