Southern California’s housing market was more productive than most of the country this April. The volume of home sales across the region rose by 11.3% from April 2023, with all six counties posting annual gains, according to CoreLogic’s monthly report.
Meanwhile, nationwide data released last week by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that pending home sales were down 7.4% year over year in April, with the lack of affordability cited as pricing out many would-be buyers. NAR data also shows that national existing home sales declined in April, dropping 1.9% year over year.
Elevated costs would not seem to have hampered SoCal's buyers, though, in April, with CoreLogic's report indicating home prices increased 7% year over year, with the median home price for all tracked properties in the region reaching $760,000 in April.
All six counties posted year-over-year home price gains, led by Orange County, where prices rose by 21.7%, followed by San Diego (9.3%), Ventura (8.4%), San Bernardino (8.2%), Los Angeles (8.1%) and Riverside (7.3%).
Orange County again posted the highest median price in Southern California, at $1.2 million, followed by San Diego ($880,000), Los Angeles ($865,000), Ventura ($835,000), Riverside ($585,000) and San Bernardino ($489,000) counties.
Los Angeles County posted the region’s largest sales volume increase, at 14.7%. It was followed by Riverside (13.6%), Orange (12.4%), Ventura (7.5%), San Diego (6.6%) and San Bernardino (6.3%) counties.
The California Association of Realtors (CAR) released its April home sales and price report, indicating that sales throughout the state rose by 3% from March and 4.4% year over year.
“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 C.A.R. 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.”
