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Home sales in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 279,810 in July, a 3.6% increase from June and a 4.1% boost from one year ago, according to new data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR). July’s total marked a five-month high while year-to-date home sales edged up 0.2% from the first seven months of 2023.

However, CAR also noted the state’s home sales pace has been below the 300,000-threshold for 22 consecutive months.

While sales were up, the statewide median price dropped 1.6% month-over-month to $886,560 – the price was also 6.5% higher than the $832,530 recorded in July 2023 and marked the 13th straight month of annual price increases, albeit at the smallest uptick since January. Stronger sales momentum was seen in the luxury market, with sales of homes priced at $1 million and higher were up 24.5% and accounted for 35.4% of last month’s sales. On the flip side. sales in the sub-$500,000 segment dropped by 1.6%.

The statewide unsold inventory index was 2.9 months in July, down from 3 months in June and up from 2.5 months in July 2023. Active listings at the state level rose 39% on a year-over year basis, marking the sixth straight month of annual gains in for-sale properties and the highest since January of last year.

“As the economy showed more signs of cooling in the past couple of months, mortgage rates continued to come down, reaching the lowest level in 15 months,” said CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “This improvement in lower borrowing costs could motivate homebuyers on the sideline to reenter the market, especially since home prices began to soften at the tail end of the homebuying season.”