A report released Monday (May 17) by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) showed that in April, median home prices in self-contained homes across California exceeded the $800,000 milestone for the first time.
According to CAR, the median price of detached homes in California reached nearly $814,000 in April due to the hot housing market and the shortage of homes for sale, which is nearly $55,000 higher than in March and $207,000 from a year ago.
In addition, the median price for a Bumper/townhouse in California was $570,000 in April, up $17,500 from March and $84,000 higher than the median price a year ago.
Jordan Levine, car's vice president and chief economist, said soaring home prices would not only threaten already low homeownership rates, but would also make it harder for residents who didn't yet have a home to buy a home. This also raises the question of whether this market cycle is sustainable. With rising vaccination rates and a full reopening of the state economy, higher home prices are expected to attract potential sellers who have postponed their home sales during the pandemic, which will ease the pressure on house prices.
Los Angeles County self-contained homes are $707,000 higher than $142,000 a year ago
In the Southern Canada region, the median price of existing detached homes rose to $750,000 in April, up $45,000 from a month ago and $167,000 from a year ago.
In Lowe County, the median home price for a detached house was $707,000 in April, $668,000 in March, compared to $565,000 last April.
In Orange County, the median home price for a detached home was $1.1 million in April, up $75,000 from $1,025,000 in March, compared to just $861,000 in April.
In the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties), the median price for a detached home was $500,000 in April, $495,000 in March, and $390,000 last April.
It is worth noting, though, that the mid-price of detached homes in San Bernardino County bucked the trend in April, falling from $412,000 in March to $405,000, compared with just $325,000 in April last year.
The median price of detached houses in Riverside County was $545,500 in April, up $10,000 from March ($535,000) and $110,500 from April last year ($435,000).
In addition, the median price of detached houses in San Diego County was $825,000 in April, $800,000 in March and $671,000 last April.
In Ventura County, the median price for a detached house was $865,000 in April, $770,000 in March and $675,000 last April.
The highest home prices in the state are in the San Francisco Bay Area, where san mateo county had the highest median price for a detached home in April of $2.001 million, the highest in the state; the county had a median price of $1.985 million in March, compared to $1.64 million last April.
It was followed by San Francisco County, with a median home price of $1.8 million in April, $1.755 million in March and nearly $1.7 million last April.
In Santa Clara County, where Silicon Valley is located, the median price for a detached home was $1.65 million in April, $1.6 million in March and $1.39 million in April last year.
In the Central Valley area, the median price for a detached house was $435,000 in April, $415,000 in March and $346,500 in April last year.
The median price for detached homes in coastal areas of Central California was $925,600 in April, $871,800 in March and $657,500 in April last year.
In California's northernmost region, the median price for detached homes was $367,200 in April, $350,000 in March and $300,000 last April.
Inland Empire's April sales down 5.4% from March
In terms of sales volume, home sales across the state continued to grow in April, with single-family home sales in April up 2.6% from March and 65.1% from a year ago, and Kangdou and Terraced House sales up 6.3% from a month ago and 127.4% from a year ago.
Regionally, sales of detached homes in the San Francisco Bay Area increased 25 percent from March and 101.4 percent from a year ago; sales of detached homes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area increased by 6.3 percent from March and 68.1 percent from a year ago.
The sales volume of detached houses in the entire Southern Canada region increased by 7.1% compared with March and 65.5% from a year ago; the sales volume of detached houses in the Central Canada Coast area increased by 7.3% compared with March and 81.7% from a year ago; and the sales volume of detached houses in the Central Valley area increased by 10.8% compared with March and 39.8% from a year ago.
Statewide, Mono County saw the highest increase in single-family home sales in April( March) and year-over-year (April last year), up 122 percent and 233 percent, respectively; Santa Clara County in the Bay Area up 36.7 percent and 121.3 percent, San Francisco County up 10.6 percent and 165.7 percent, San Mateo County up 27.6 percent and 136.9 percent, and Santa Cruz County in the Central Coast up 36.9 percent and 117 percent, respectively; Kings County in the Middle Valley region up 30 percent, respectively. and 39.1%, San Benito County increased by 20.8% and 128.6% respectively, and Ventura County in the Southern Ga region increased by 28.9% and 70.3% respectively.
However, in the northernmost parts of California, as well as in the inland empire, sales of detached homes fell in April compared to March. Sales in the far northern region fell 0.2 percent in April from March, but were still 38.8 percent higher than a year ago.
Inland Empire's single-family home sales fell 5.4% month-on-month and increased 53% year-on-year in April. Among them, San Bernardino County sales fell 3.4% month-on-month and Riverside County fell 6.4% month-on-month; in addition, Santa Barbara County's April single-family home sales fell 2.7% month-on-month; Green County in the Middle Valley Region fell 11.1% month-on-month and Moside County fell 16.2% month-on-month; Larsen County in the northernmost region fell sharply by 28.1% month-on-month, Shasta County fell by 8.7% and Tehama County fell by 20.8%; in addition, Del Norte County, which fell by 24.1% month-on-month.
California is still one of the hottest housing markets in the United States and sold on the 7th
CAR's president, Dave Walsh, said California continued to sustain one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation in April as homes sold at the fastest rate, with homes being sold consistently above asking prices, prices per square foot and days from listing to sale all-time setting record levels, while active listings remain at historic lows.
Driven by these market factors, high demand and a shortage of homes for sale drove house prices to continue to rise in April and broke record highs set in March.
Meanwhile, the median number of days from listing to sale of independent homes in California reached a new low in April, selling in just 7 days.
The median number of days required to sell a california single-family home hit another record low of 7 days in April, setting a new all-time record of 13 days in April 2020.
Housing affordability was at its lowest level since 2018
At the same time, Californians' housing affordability has hit a new low. CAR reported last week that housing affordability across the state was at its lowest level since mid-2018. The group said the percentage of Californians who could afford a mid-price detached home in the first quarter of 2021 fell to 27 percent from 35 percent in the first quarter of 2020.
Among Southern California counties, Orange County was the least affordable in the first quarter, at just 20 percent, while Lowe County was slightly better at 25 percent.