Existing, single-family home sales totaled 406,920 in July, down 0.9 percent from June and down 3.4 percent from July 2017.
July’s statewide median home price was $591,460, down 1.9 percent from June and up 7.6 percent from July 2017.
“While home sales continued to decline in recent months, the softening of the market is more indicative of a market shift rather than a major market correction,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “Despite the slowdown, there were some silver linings in the market in July. For example, homes priced between $500,000 and $1 million posted modest gains of about 5 percent in July thanks to growing inventory. Additionally, every price segment above $1 million continued to enjoy double-digit sales gains.”
The Southern California Region housing market was essentially flat compared to last year with sales ticking up 0.1 percent. Ventura County led the region with a 9.4 percent sales increase, followed by a modest uptick of 1.3 percent in Riverside. The core employment centers of the region continued to struggle as Orange and Los Angeles counties saw sales declines of 0.9 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. Sales in San Diego inched up 0.7 percent in July.
Home prices in Southern California continued to rise as well, despite posting lackluster sales. Price increases in every county were in the single-digits, though San Bernardino County saw prices rise by 9.7 percent. With the exception of Madera County, which suffered from recent major wildfires, every part of the Central Valley saw prices rise as well.
The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home remained low at 18 days in July, up from 16 days in July 2017.
The average statewide price per square foot for an existing, single-family home statewide was $289 in July, up from $270 in July 2017.
The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.53 percent in July, down from 4.57 percent in June and up from 3.97 percent in July 2017, according to Freddie Mac. The
five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate, however, edged higher in July to an average of 3.84 percent from 3.82 percent in June and from 3.22 percent in July 2017.