Statewide home sales saw a slight uptick in December, but still recorded 23% fewer sales annually in comparison to all of 2021.
“A respite in rising interest rates helped edge up California home sales in December to break a three-month sales decline but still remained below the 250,000 level for the second straight month,” the California Association of Realtors reported.
According to the association, single-family home sales statewide was up 1.1% from November and down 44.1% from December 2021, CAR reported. December’s statewide median home price was $774,580, down 0.4% from November and down 2.8% from December 2021.
As we reported last week, sales in western Nevada County were up 3.6% over November, but 15% off from all of 2021. Fourth-quarter home sales in 2022 were not only down 40.5% from 2020, and 31.6% off from 2021’s final quarter, but also marked the fewest homes sold in the fourth quarter of any of the past five years.
“It’s encouraging to see an uptick in December’s home sales as buyers took advantage of a slightly more favorable lending environment that provided them with a window of opportunity to enter the California housing market,” said C.A.R. President Jennifer Branchini, a Bay Area REALTOR®. “As buyers and sellers gradually adapt to the new normal, we are seeing a shift toward a more balanced market. With both sides slowly adjusting their expectations, it’s hopeful that we’ll see sales ratcheting higher as market conditions improve further throughout 2023.”
The association reported California’s median home price remained on a downward trend for the fourth straight month and has been down on a monthly basis for six of the last seven months.
“Home prices are holding up relatively well, despite rising interest rates and falling housing demand in recent months. Tight housing inventory was a primary factor preventing prices from free falling as new active listings continued to dip to reach the lowest level in at least the past five years,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “While depressed inventory will preclude major price declines beyond the 8.8 percent we forecast for this year, it will also slow sales growth and prevent the housing market from having a rapid recovery.”
At the regional level, the association reported, all major regions recorded year-over-year sales drops of more than 35%, with Southern California incurring the biggest decline of all regions for the third month in a row at -48.3%. The Central Coast was the other region in the state with a drop of over 40% (-45.9%), followed by the Central Valley (-39.3%), the Far North (-38.3%) and the San Francisco Bay Area (-37.4%).
The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 28 days in December and 12 days in December 2021.
The statewide average price per square foot for an existing single-family home was $377, down from $382 in December a year ago. In western Nevada County, the average price per square foot in December was $276, down 8.3% from November and down 16.4% from a five-year high of $330 per square foot paid in May of this year.
Statewide, the association reported, the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 6.36% in December, up from 3.10% in December 2021, according to Freddie Mac.
NEVADA COUNTY REAL ESTATE UPDATE: Fewest 4th-quarter sales in five years close out 2022