by Calculated Risk on 9/17/2020 12:21:00 PM

The CAR reported: California housing market continues recovery as median home price breaks $700,000 mark, C.A.R. reports

California’s housing market continued to improve in August as home sales climbed to their highest level in more than a decade as the median home price broke last month’s record and hit another high, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 465,400 units in August, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2020 if sales maintained the August pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

August’s sales total climbed above the 400,000 level for the second straight month since the COVID-19 crisis depressed the housing market earlier this year, marking the first time since the summer of 2016 that sales increased from the previous month three months in a row. August sales rose 6.3 percent from 437,890 in July and were up 14.6 percent from a year ago, when 406,100 homes were sold on an annualized basis.
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With fewer for-sale properties being added to the market, housing supply remained significantly below last year’s level. The 50.3 percent drop from a year ago was the biggest decline in active listings since at least January 2008. It was also the ninth consecutive month with active listings falling more than 25 percent from the prior year.
emphasis added

CR Note: Existing home sales are reported when the transaction closes, so this was mostly for contracts signed in June and July. Sales-to-date, through August, are down 6.8% compared to the same period in 2019.