California Median Home Price Sinks 6.5 Percent

Feb 26, 2020

The median price for a California residential property fell by 6.5 percent from December's revised $614,880 to $575,160 in January, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors (CAR). The January median price was the largest drop in the last seven years. However, on a year-over-year basis, the median price was up 7.1 percent from $536,830 one year earlier, which made January the fourth straight month that the median price registered an annual growth of six percent or higher.

Last month, California’s single-family home sales totaled a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 395,550 units in January, a 0.7 percent dip from the 398,370 level in December. January was the second straight month that sales fell below the 400,000 benchmark. Nonetheless, sales were up by 10.3 percent from January 2019, which CAR attributed to the weak revised figure of 358,540 sales one year ago.

"The strong sales momentum that we saw in the second half of last year carried over into the new year, thanks to favorable homebuying conditions," said 2020 CAR President Jeanne Radsick. "And while home sales were up double-digits from a year ago, it's important to remember that current sales are being compared to a market that one year ago was at its lowest level in 10 years as economic uncertainties clouded the market outlook while the government shutdown delayed escrow closings."

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Phil Hall

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Feb 26, 2020

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