Sales of existing single-family homes in California dipped in March as mortgage rates once again edged higher, according to new data from the California Association of Realtors.
After two consecutive months of double-digit increases, statewide home sales fell by 7.8% month over month and were down 4.4% percent from March 2023 on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate.
Home prices, however, continued to climb.
The median price of a single-family home in California was $854,490 last month, up nearly $50,000 over February and more than $60,000 higher than March 2023.
The San Francisco Bay Area continues to be the Golden State’s priciest region, with a median home price of $1.38 million, followed by the Central Coast ($950,000) and then Southern California ($850,000), the data shows. The median price in metro Los Angeles was $801,000.
| March 2024 | California Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family Homes | ||||||
| Region/County | Mar-24 | Mar-23 | Price MTM% Change | Price YTY% Change | Sales MTM% Change | Sales YTY% Change | |
| Single-Family Homes | $854,490 | $793,260 | 6.0% | 7.7% | -7.8% | -4.4% | |
| Condo/Twnhms | $675,000 | $640,000 | 2.3% | 5.5% | 16.4% | -3.9% | |
| L.A. Metro | $801,000 | $735,000 | 1.4% | 9.0% | 20.0% | -8.0% | |
| Central Coast | $950,000 | $922,500 | 0.0% | 3.0% | 30.1% | 7.2% | |
| Central Valley | $478,600 | $455,000 | 0.1% | 5.2% | 18.7% | -9.6% | |
| Far North | $374,950 | $355,000 | -1.1% | 5.6% | 17.8% | -4.0% | |
| Inland Empire | $594,250 | $555,000 | 3.1% | 7.1% | 18.0% | -6.4% | |
| S.F. Bay Area | $1,386,500 | $1,200,000 | 10.3% | 15.5% | 31.7% | -5.4% | |
| Southern California | $850,000 | $765,000 | 3.0% | 11.1% | 19.1% | -7.8% | |
After falling to a recent low of 6.6% in January, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has crept higher for three straight months as inflation continues to dog the U.S. economy.
Experts say higher borrowing costs are throttling home sales in Golden State and nationwide.
“Inflation is still a little stickier than previously thought, so rates may stay elevated for a little longer,” Oscar Wei, Deputy Chief Economist at the California Association of Realtors, told KTLA 5 News. “But at the same time, I think people are starting to get used to rates at 6% and 7%. They’re not expecting rates to go back to 3%.”
According to government-backed lender Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.1% as of Thursday.
With little hope that the Federal Reserve will significantly cut interest rates in the near future, Wei says potential home buyers and sellers cannot put their lives on hold indefinitely if they need to move.
“They can wait for 12 months or maybe 18 months, but then at some point they realize rates aren’t going back down so they have to make an adjustment,” he says. “It’s not something they can control.”
