State housing market loses momentum

California’s housing market slowed in March, as the state recorded its first year-over-year drop in sales in three months.

Sales of existing single-family homes totaled 267,470 last month, down 7.8 percent from February and down 4.4 percent compared with March 2023, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Those figures are annualized, meaning they indicate what the state’s home sales would be if the March numbers were maintained throughout the year. They also take into account seasonal factors that impact the housing market.

Statewide, the median price of a single-family home in March was $854,490, up six percent from February and up 7.7 percent year-over-year. Year-to date sales were up only 0.7 percent.

In the Inland Empire, March home sales were up 18 percent from February but down 6.4 percent year-over-year. The median home price – $594,250 – was up 3.1 percent month-over-month and 7.1 percent year-over-year.

“With mortgage rates reaching the highest levels since mid-November 2023, the housing market struggled to build on the momentum exhibited in the first two months of this year,” said Jordan Levine, the association’s chief economist, in a statement. ”The uptick in recent months suggests that we could see a bounce back in housing activity when the market digests the latest inflation report.”