SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The spring home-buying season got off to a slow start as the California Association of Realtors reported a drop in the Golden State’s home sales last month.
In a report released Wednesday, CAR said the seasonally adjusted annualized rate for sales of existing single-family homes in California was 267,470 in March. That’s according to data collected from more than 90 local realtor associations and multiple listing services (MLSs) across the state.
March saw a nearly eight percent decrease in home sales from the month before and just over four percent from the same time a year ago.
Meanwhile, the statewide median home sales price climbed to $854,490 last month, CAR said. That’s an increase of about six percent from February’s median price of $806,490.
The report said home sales in the Central Valley dropped about 10 percent from a year ago, experiencing the biggest decline in California. It was followed by Southern California, which saw a regional decline in home sales of nearly eight percent from a year ago.
“While home sales lost momentum in March, the housing market remains competitive as we’re seeing the statewide median home price reaching the highest level in seven months, and homes selling quicker than last year,” said C.A.R. President Melanie Barker.
In San Diego County, the median price of a single-family home sold in March was $1,020,000 compared to $980,000 in February. March’s median sales price was also $100,000 more than the same month last year.
The median home sales price was still higher in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially in San Mateo County. The median price for a single-family home sold there was almost a whopping $2.2 million. In Santa Clara County, the median home sales price was reported at over $1.9 million.
Statewide, homes sold faster last month compared to March of last year. The average time a single-family home in California spent on the market was about 19 days last month. That’s compared to an average of 24 days on the market last year. Locally, in San Diego, a home stayed on the market for an average of 12 days compared to 15 days in March of last year.
