Just as we saw locally in western Nevada County, home sales in 2023 slowed dramatically across the state and country. Recent reports show the impact of higher interest rates and lower inventory of homes on the market, as U.S. home sales dropped to the lowest levels in 30 years but still produced record high prices.
The median price of a home sold in the United States in 2023 was $389,800, up about 1% from 2022 and the highest on record, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Friday.
Here in the golden state, the California Association of Realtors reported the median price of a home sold was $813,980 in 2023.
According to Multiple Listing Service data, the median price of a home sold in western Nevada County was $540,000.
“As a result of high prices and low inventory, home sales dropped to their lowest level since 1995, with 4.09 million homes sold, down 19% from the year before,” CNN reported. “This follows an 18% drop in home sales from 2021 to 2022.”
Home sales in California were down 24.8% in 2023 from prior year, according to the association of Realtors.
As we reported last week, a similar story played out in western Nevada County, which saw a 23% decline year over year.
“The housing market had a tough year in 2023 as a shortage of homes for sale and high costs of borrowing continued to have a negative impact on housing inventory and demand,” association President Melanie Barker, a Yosemite Realtor, said in a news release. “With mortgage rates expected to come down in the next 12 months, home sales will bounce back as buyers and sellers return to a more favorable housing market. Home prices should see a moderate increase in 2024 as well.”
According to the association, new active listings at the state level dipped from a year ago for the 18th consecutive month, but the annual decline remained below 3% for the second month in a row. With rates dropping at the end of 2023 and moving mostly sideways at the start of 2024, the market could see a slight uptick in the number of new listings in January.
“Easing inflationary pressure and a soft economic outlook suggest that we will see some interest rate cuts in the upcoming year, which bode well for a housing market recovery,” said association Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “With rates declining to a 7-month low in late 2023, Americans are feeling more positive about the market, and we could begin to see some increase in market activity at the start of the year. The improvement is expected to be gradual as tight housing supply will remain the norm in 2024.”
For more on home sales across the nation, state and county in 2023:
Monthly home sales see surprising December surge to close out 2023 in western Nevada County
California home sales remain stagnant in December, down 24.8% year over year
CNN: US home sales in 2023 dropped to lowest level in 28 years