Weekly Real Estate News
California’s existing single-family home sales fell 6.5% from a year earlier in September, as higher mortgage rates and affordability constraints continued to weigh on demand, according to a report released October 19 by the California Association of Realtors.
The seasonally adjusted annualized sales pace was 260,410, down 3.4% from August’s 269,620 and 6.5% from 278,540 in September 2025. The annualized figure is a projection of a full year’s sales at September’s seasonally adjusted pace, not the actual number of September closings.
Prices hold despite weaker transactions
The statewide median price was $899,720, down 0.2% from August but up 1.7% from a year earlier. That marked a fifth consecutive month of annual median-price gains. The share of sales above $1 million rose to 35.9%, a shift in the mix of transactions that can affect the statewide median.
Sales remained below a 300,000 annualized pace for a 48th consecutive month, according to the association. C.A.R. reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in September was 6.86%, compared with 6.67% in August and 6.35% a year earlier.
Southern California leads the decline
Four of California’s five major regions registered year-over-year sales declines. Southern California had the largest at 9.1%, followed by the Far North at 9.0%, the San Francisco Bay Area at 3.1% and the Central Valley at 2.5%. The Central Coast was the exception, with sales up 4.4%.
Across the state, active listings increased 2.7% from August and 0.5% from a year earlier, while the unsold inventory index stood at 3.7 months. The median time to sell a single-family home was 29 days.
What comes next for buyers and lenders
C.A.R. Chief Economist Jordan Levine pointed to weaker pending sales as a warning of potential further slowing in closed transactions. He also noted that limited inventory and the mortgage-rate lock-in effect may continue to support prices even when transaction volume declines.
For mortgage lenders and real estate professionals, the combination of fewer closings and relatively resilient median prices suggests a market in which affordability and financing costs remain major obstacles. The association’s figures describe statewide and regional trends; individual local markets can differ substantially.
Source: California Association of Realtors, September 2026 sales report, released October 19, 2026.
