State home sales down

Single-family home sales in California remained sluggish in June.

Nearly 395,000 units were sold statewide last month, the eight consecutive month that sales were below 400,000, according to data released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors.

That was a 1.5 percent increase compared with May but a 4.8 percent drop from June 2013. It was also the eleventh consecutive month that statewide sales were down compared with the previous year.

Prices, however, continued to rise. The median price of a single-family home in June was $457,160, down two percent from May but up a robust 6.6 percent year-over-year, according to the data.

California’s housing market is still being held back by tight supply and low affordability, especially in areas of high demand, said Kevin Brown, association president.

“Overall, with inventory improving and home sales slowly moving back up, the market is more balanced,” Brown said in a statement. “We could see further market normalization in the next few months, as interest rates remain at the lowest levels we’ve seen so far this year.”