Sales of existing single-family homes in California dropped by 0.9 percent from June to July, according to data from the
California Association of Realtors (CAR). The 406,920 sold in July were lower than the 410,800 level in the previous month, and were down 3.4 percent from the 421,460 sales one year earlier. The statewide median home price was $591,460 in July, down 1.9 percent from $602,760 in June and up 7.6 percent from a revised $549,470 in July 2017.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, sales in the Bay Area were down by 7.1 percent monthly and up by a relatively flat two percent annually. CAR attributed the figures to an “erosion of affordability” in the expensive region. Nonetheless, the San Francisco, Santa Clara and Alameda counties each saw prices rise by more than 10 percent from last year.
"In the midst of the peak home-buying season, high home prices and rising interest rates combined to crimp housing affordability, which in turn is subduing home sales," said CAR President Steve White. "Some of the reluctance by buyers appears to be driven by fears that the market may be peaking. Additionally, the lack of a federal tax incentive for homeownership could be at play given that much of the weakness is in the lower-priced, first-time buyer segment of the market."
Statewide, the unsold inventory index inched up to 3.3 months in July from 3.2 months one year earlier, and the median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 18 days in July, up from 16 days in July 2017.
