Statewide home sales saw a similar story to the local western Nevada County market in February, according the a report by the California Association of Realtors.
Across the golden state, the pace of sales picked up 17.6% over January sales, but were 33.2% off from February 2022, the association reported. Locally, total sales in February were up 16.1% over January and off 19.1% from a year ago, as we reported last month.
(Be sure to see our latest local sales analysis for the month of March, which will be published April 11 here and at TheUnion.com).
Along with higher interest rates than the recent record low loan rates recorded in 2020-21, western county was buried in snow or washed out by rain storms for the better part of the first quarter. Adding to that mix, a low number of homes on the market has left buyers with fewer choices in that time frame,which has also been a similar story statewide.
“A brief interest rate reprieve and softer home prices during January created a window of opportunity for homebuyers to dip their toes into the home-buying waters, which helped boost home sales to the highest level in five months,” association President Jennifer Branchini, a Bay Area Realtor, said in the report. “A shift toward more home sales in the lower-price segments is expected to continue to further soften home prices. However, with the availability of homes remaining extremely tight and housing supply conditions not expected to improve any time soon, prices should find bottom later this year as interest rates stabilize.”
According to the association, California’s median home price fell for the sixth straight month in February, declining 2.1% from January’s $751,330 to $735,480, the lowest price level in two years. February’s price also was lower on a year-over-year basis for the fourth consecutive month, declining 4.8% from the revised $772,180 recorded last February.
“The median price for a typical home at the state level has declined 18.3% from May 2022, when it reached its recent peak of $900,170,” the association reported. “With home prices expected to remain soft throughout the rest of 2023, the market will see larger price drops moving through the spring home-buying season.”
In western Nevada County, the median home price rose about 1% over January to $469,500, but was down 12.2% from the $535,000 median price recorded in February 2022.
