Home Sales At 3-Year High Across California As Prices Drop

SAN DIEGO, CA — Buyers are taking advantage of falling prices to push California home sales to their highest level in over three years, the California Association of Realtors announced Tuesday.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes rose 1.9% in November over October's numbers, and are up 2.6% year-over-year to their highest level since September 2022.

"California home sales reaching their highest level in more than three years is an encouraging sign that the housing market is continuing its recovery," said CAR President Tamara Suminski, a Southern California broker and realtor. "While the sales growth remains gradual, the upward trend suggests that the market is slowly gaining momentum -- good news for buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals alike."

The statewide sales numbers reported by CAR are on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, adjusted to account for factors that typically influence home sales. Localized sales figures for November are not seasonally adjusted and therefore do not reflect the overall increase in sales.

San Diego County's sales figure dropped 23.6% last month and was down 6% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, home prices dropped across the state for the third consecutive month. The median selling price of an existing, single-family home in California declined 3.9% from last month to $852,680, unchanged from a year ago.

In San Diego County, the median price increased 0.5% to $990,000, which is 1.5% higher than one year ago. In neighboring Imperial County, the media price was up 8.1% to $432,500, 11.6% higher than one year ago.

The county with the highest median home price in California in November was San Mateo at $2 million. The lowest was Lassen County's $185,000.

"Mortgage rates are expected to continue declining in 2026, but the decrease is unlikely to be dramatic," CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine said. "With the Federal Reserve signaling a more cautious approach to rate cuts and recent signs of economic slowing, California home sales and prices are projected to experience mild to moderate growth over the next 12 months."

— City News Service