California recorded 256,550 closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in during January, a 10.8% decline from the downwardly revised 287,570 sales from December and down 1.3% from one year earlier.
According to the California Association of Realtors (CAR), January’s decline extended the streak of sub-300,000 seasonally adjusted annualized sales to 40 consecutive months. However, 24 of the 53 counties tracked by CAR posted year-over-year sales gains in January, with 14 recording double-digit increases.
Also in decline was California’s median home price, which reached a 23-month low of $823,180 in January, down 3.2% from December. On a year-over-year basis, the median price fell for the third time in the past four months and registered its largest annual price decline since June 2023. But CAR also noted that 31 of the 53 counties it tracked recorded year-over-year median home price gains in January.
“After closing out 2025 on a strong note, California’s housing market has started the new year on a softer footing, with both sales and prices coming in below last year’s levels,” said 2026 CAR President Tamara Suminski, a Southern California broker and realtor. “However, as mortgage rates ease toward recent lows and housing supply is expected to improve in the coming weeks, we anticipate momentum to build as the market heads into the spring homebuying season.”
“California’s housing market pulled back in January as heightened policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions contributed to increased volatility in mortgage rates early in the year,” added CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “More recent economic indicators, however, suggest that the broader economy is beginning to stabilize, which should help restore confidence among both buyers and sellers. With pending home sales posting a solid gain last month, we anticipate a rebound in housing market activity in February.”
