California’s median home price reached a new all-time high at $904,210 in April, up 11.4% from $811,510 one year earlier and up 5.8% from March’s $854,490. According to the California Association of Realtors (CAR), this is the first time the median home price breached the $900,000 level, and the year-over-year gain was the 10th straight month of annual price increases for the Golden State.
During April, closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 275,540, but 3% from the revised 267,470 homes sold in March and up 4.4% from the revised 263,960 homes sold one year earlier. The sales pace remained below the 300,000-threshold for the 19th consecutive month. Active listings were up year-over-year in 49 of the state’s 53 counties.
Sales in the $1 million-and-higher market segment surged 39.8% year-over-year in April, while the sub-$500,000 segment declined by 8%.
“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,” said CAR President Melanie Barker, a Yosemite realtor. “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.”