SoCal home sales rebound as statewide median price sets record

Home sales in Southern California and throughout the state rebounded in April, while the statewide median home price surpassed $900,000 for the first time, the California Association of Realtors reported Friday.

The statewide median jumped 11.4% from $811,510 in April 2023 to $904,210 in April 2024, to put it past the $900,000 plateau for the first time in history, according to CAR. California’s median was 5.8% more than the $854,490 recorded in March, and recently sagging home sales in the state, the year-over-year gain was the 10th consecutive month of annual price increases.

Seasonal factors and a limited supply of housing will maintain upward pressure on home prices in the coming months, according to CAR.

The volume of home sales in the Central Coast region increased the most from a year ago, surging 26.7%. Southern California sales increased 8.7% compared with April 2023.

“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,” CAR President Melanie Barker said in a statement. “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.”

All major regions in the state showed increases in median prices from a year ago, CAR data indicated. An existing single-family home in Southern California rose 12.1% year-over-year to $880,000, which was a 3.5% increase from March.

In the Los Angeles metro area, the median price increased 4.9% from last month to $840,000, which was a 13.5% increase from April 2023.

The Inland Empire totals were a 607,000 median price in April, $594,250 in March and $565,000 a year ago, for respective 2.1% and 7.4% increases. Sales totals increased 1.2% from March and 1.5% compared with April 2023.

The LA County median price increased by 2.6%, from $805,100 in March to $825,970 in April.

Orange County’s median rose 2.9% from March to $1.44 million, a 17.6% jump compared with April 2023.

In Riverside County, the median price for a single-family home was $650,000 last month, a 1.6% increase from $640,000 in March and a 5.7% rise from $615,000 one year ago. Home sales totaled slightly lower than April 2023 with a 0.4% decline but rose 2.1% from March.

San Bernardino County’s median home-sale price was $516,080 in April and $499,900 in March, a 3.2% increase from March and a 14.7% jump compared with April 2023. The number of sales in April dropped 0.5% from March but increased 5.3% compared with last year.

In San Diego County, the median price for a single-family home was $1.04 million last month, a 2.7 % increase from $1.02 million in March and a 12.6% rise from $930,000 one year ago.

The San Francisco Bay Area posted the largest price increase year-over-year, rising 15.5% from last April. The Bay Area and Southern California with 12.1% were the only two regions to show a double-digit price increase from last year.

Imperial County had the the lowest median price in Southern California, $377,500, an 8.2% increase from April.

“While the market performed solidly in April, we don’t expect to see a rapid recovery as long as inflation remains sticky and mortgage rates continue to fluctuate despite recent dips,” Jordan Levine, CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, said in a statement. “However, housing inventory has also started to increase, which will provide much-needed supply to the market and facilitate a higher level of home sales in the second half of the year.”

Homes priced at or above $1 million in California continued to hold up better than their more affordable real estate in the last few months, CAR observed. The high-end market segment spiked 39.8% year-over-year in April, while homes priced under $500,000 declined again moderately at 8%. The change in the mix of sales of homes priced over $1 million accounted for 36.4% of all sales ― the largest share in at least the last five years.

“The growth in sales of higher-priced homes continued to provide upward support to the statewide median price and was partly responsible for the solid increase in year-over-year growth rate at the start of the second quarter,” according to CAR.

The average number of days it took to sell a single-family home in California was 16 days in April and 20 days in April 2023.