State home sales stay up

Sales of existing single-family homes in California reached 279,810 in July, up 3.6 percent month-over-month and up 4.1 percent from July 2023, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Statewide, the median price of a single-family home last month was $886,560, down 1.6 percent from June but up 6.5 percent, from $832,530, one year ago.

Home sale were up only 0.2 percent year-over-year during the first seven months of this year.

All sales numbers are annualized, meaning they represent what would be the total number of homes sold during 2024 if sales maintained their July pace throughout the year. The sales numbers also take into account seasonal factors.

“As the economy showed more signs of cooling in the past couple of months, mortgage rates continued to come down, reaching the lowest level in 15 months,” said Jordan Levine, the association’s chief economist, in the statement. “This improvement in lower borrowing costs could motivate homebuyers on the sideline to reenter the market.”

In the Inland Empire, the media price of a single-family home – $600,000 – was unchanged month-over-month and up 4.3 percent year-over-year. Sales in the two-county region were up 6.6 percent month-over-month and 15.2 percent year-over-year, the association reported.