IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
California’s housing market took a slight downturn in May, thanks mainly to interest rates that returned to where they were at the end of last year.
Sales of existing single-family homes totaled 272,410 last month, seasonally adjusted, down 1.1 percent from 275,540 in April and down six percent from 289,860 in May 2023, according to the California Association of Realtors.
The median price of a single-family home was $908,040, up 0.4 percent from April and up 8.7 percent from $835,280, exactly one year earlier.
The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold this year if sales maintained the pace they set in May pace for the entire year.
“A persistent shortage of homes for sale, particularly in the more affordable market segments, continued to push up California’s median home price to new record highs over the past couple of months,” said Jordan Levine, the association’s chief economist in a statement. “With mortgage rates coming back down from their recent peaks and market competition heating up, the statewide median price may have more room to grow before the summer ends.”
In the Inland Empire, the median price of a home in the fifth month of the year was $598,490, down 1.4 percent year-over-year, while sales were down 5.9 percent during that time, the Los Angeles-based association reported.
