by Calculated Risk on 11/18/2020 07:13:00 PM

The CAR reported: California homebuying season extends into fall as home sales and prices remain elevated in October, C.A.R. reports

Continued record low mortgage interest rates sustained California’s housing market in October as home sales and prices took a breather from September’s record high levels and still recorded double-digit increases from a year ago, 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 484,510 units in October, 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 October pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

October’s sales total climbed above the 400,000 level for the fourth straight month since the COVID-19 crisis depressed the housing market earlier this year and was just 15,000 units shy of the 500,000 benchmark. October sales dipped 1.0 percent from 489,590 in September and were up 19.9 percent from a year ago, when 404,240 homes were sold on an annualized basis.
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Active listings continued to decline significantly, with most regions declining more than 40 percent from last year. The Central Valley had the biggest year-over-year drop of 49.6 percent in October, followed by Southern California (-46.6 percent), the Central Coast (-46.5 percent), the Far North (-40.9 percent), and the San Francisco Bay Area (-23.8 percent).
emphasis added

CR Note: Existing home sales are reported when the transaction closes, so this was mostly for contracts signed in August and September. Sales-to-date, through October, are down 1.3% compared to the same period in 2019.