Home prices hit a new all-time high in the state of California last month, surpassing the $900,000 threshold for the first time.
The statewide median price of home sold in April was $904,210 — up 5.8% from March and up 11.4% from the $811,510 median price recorded in April 2023.
In western Nevada County, as we reported last week, the median price of a home sold locally in April was $575,000 — up 10.6% from March and up 4.6% from April 2023.
According to the California Association of Realtors, “spring home buying season” got off to a strong start statewide, with sales up 3% from March and 4.4% in a year-over-year comparison with April 2023.
Year-to-date statewide home sales were up 1.6% over 2023, the association reported.
“April’s rebound in both home sales and price shows the resilience of California’s housing market and is a signal that buyers and sellers are beginning to adjust to the higher interest rate environment,” association President Melanie Barker, a Yosemite Realtor, said in a news release. “Market fundamentals are showing signs of improvement, and competition is on the rise again; homes are selling faster and nearly half the share of homes is selling above asking price ― the highest in nine months.”
According to the association, the statewide median price recorded a new all-time high in April, jumping 11.4% from $811,510 in April 2023 to $904,210 in April 2024, exceeding the $900,000-benchmark for the first time in history.
“California’s median home price was 5.8% higher than March’s $854,49,” the association reported. “The year-over-year gain was the 10th straight month of annual price increases for the Golden State. Seasonal factors and tight housing supply conditions will continue to put upward pressure on home prices in the coming months.”
Sales of homes priced at or above $1 million dollars in California continue to hold up better than their more affordable counterparts in the state in the last few months, the association reported.
“While the market performed solidly in April, we don’t expect to see a rapid recovery as long as inflation remains sticky and mortgage rates continue to fluctuate despite recent dips,” said association Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “However, housing inventory has also started to increase, which will provide much-needed supply to the market and facilitate a higher level of home sales in the second half of the year.”
Other key points from the April 2024 resale housing report include:
• Fourteen of the 53 counties tracked by C.A.R. recorded sales declines from a year ago, with five counties dropping more than 10% and two of those counties registering sales declines of more than 20% from last April.
Western Nevada County saw a 7.6% increase in sales from March and 6.4% from a year ago.
• At the regional level, all major regions except one experienced an increase in their median price from a year ago. The San Francisco Bay Area recorded the biggest price jump on a year-over-year basis, increasing 15.5 percent from last April. The Far North region (-5.2%) was the only major region that posted a decline in median price, as six of the seven counties in the region recorded a price decline compared to a year ago.
• Home prices continued to show year-over-year improvement in many counties, with 40 counties across the state registering a median price higher than what was recorded a year ago.
• The statewide Unsold Inventory Index (UII), which measures the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, remained flat at 2.6 months in April. The index was 2.5 months in April 2023.
• Active listings declined from a year-ago in two counties in April. Mono had the biggest year-over-year drop at -19.0 percent, followed by San Francisco (-9.4 percent). Forty-nine counties recorded a year-over-year gain, with active listings in Solano jumping the most at 77.1%. Western Nevada County saw a 31% increase in listings from March and 57% more homes on the market than in April 2023.
• The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 16 days in April and 20 days in April 2023.
• The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 6.99% in April, up from 6.34% in April 2023, according to C.A.R.’s calculations based on Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey data.
Click here to read the full report by the California Association of Realtors.