California Home Sales Rebound After 5-Month Slump

Home sales rebounded last month across California, increasing on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis, the California Association of Realtors announced Wednesday.

Sales in September increased 5% from the previous month and rose 6.6% year-over-year. That year-over-year increase came after five consecutive months of year-over-year declines.

The statewide median home price last month was $883,640, down 1.7% from August — and up 1.8% compared to September 2024.

"The housing market showed modest improvement in September, with both sales and prices up from a year ago," CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine said in a statement. "Steady mortgage rates may give demand a small boost heading into the fourth quarter, but broader economic uncertainty — like the ongoing government shutdown and renewed U.S.-China trade tensions — will likely keep the recovery gradual."

The sales numbers reported by CAR are on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The highest median price in California in September was San Mateo County's $2.15 million. The lowest was Trinity County's $210,000.

Three regions recorded year-over-year, double digit sales increases: the Central Coast (11.8%), Southern California (11.3%) and the Central Valley (10.2%).

The San Francisco Bay Area saw sales increase 9.8%.

A detailed breakdown of sales statistics by county is available from the California Association of Realtors.

City News Service contributed to this report.