Fueled by the lowest interest rates since spring, home sales in the Los Angeles metro region and the state as a whole rebounded in July to reach a five-month high, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) announced Aug. 20.
July’s sales pace rose 3.6 percent from the revised 270,200 homes sold in June and were up 4.1 percent from a year ago, when a revised 268,840 homes were sold annually. The sales pace has remained below the 300,000 threshold for 22 consecutive months, and year-to-date home sales edged up 0.2 percent from the first seven months of 2023, according to statewide figures.
The median price of a single-family home slipped in July for the second month in a row, after setting a record high in May. July’s median price dipped 1.6 percent from $900,720 in June to $886,560 statewide.
California’s median home price was 6.5 percent higher than the $832,530 recorded in July 2023. The year-over-year gain was the 13th straight month of annual price increases, albeit the smallest since January, according to CAR.
Home prices could soften further in coming months but should continue to register moderate year-over-year growth for the rest of the year, the association said.
“California’s housing market kicked off the second half of the year with a moderate increase in home sales in July as interest rates continued their downward trend,” CAR President Melanie Barker said in a statement. “Despite transitioning into the off-season, the market should remain vibrant in the coming months if the availability of homes for sale continues to improve, and mortgage rates moderate further in the third and fourth quarters.”
The median price in the Los Angeles metro area was higher in July at $849,000 compared to the previous month’s $835,000, a 7.5 percent increase from last year at this time. The median price in Los Angeles County increased by 2.2 percent, from $889,180 in June to $909,010 last month.
Orange County saw its median home price decrease by 4.1 percent from June to $1.39 million in July, 6.9 percent higher than the same month last year.
In Southern California, the lowest median price in July was Imperial County’s $385,000, showing no change from the previous month’s figure.
The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 20 days in July, four days more than in July of last year.
