California median home price hit record high

SAN FRANCISCO - The median home price hit an all-time high in California, with the Bay Area showing the biggest price jump across the state, according to new figures.

The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R) said last month, the statewide median price for existing, single-family homes exceeded $900k for the first time in history, setting a new record-high. That’s an increase of 11.4 percent from $811,510 in April 2023.

In the Bay Area, the median exceeded $1.4 million last month, up 15.5% from a year ago. The association said the Bay Area saw the largest price jump on a year-over-year basis than any of the other six regions it tracked in California.

The number of homes sold was also up, a solid 23.1% spike in the Bay Area in April from a year ago. Statewide, sales saw a 4.4% increase.

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Industry experts said the figures showed that competition was on the rise again in California, after sales slowed from soaring interest rates.

"April’s rebound in both home sales and price shows the resilience of California’s housing market and is a signal that buyers and sellers are beginning to adjust to the higher interest rate environment," C.A.R. President Melanie Barker said in the group’s home sales price report released on Friday.

The C.A.R. report also noted that in the last few months, sales of homes priced at or above the $1 million dollar mark in California continued to hold up better than the more affordable properties.

"Sales in the $1 million-and-higher market segment surged 39.8 year-over-year in April, while the sub-$500,000 segment declined again moderately (-8.0 percent)," the report found, with researchers adding, "The growth in sales of higher-priced homes continued to provide upward support to the statewide median price and was partly responsible for the solid increase in year-over-year growth rate."

Real estate experts cautioned that while the latest figures suggested that the spring homebuying season was starting strong, there were ongoing economic factors that could hinder growth.

"While the market performed solidly in April, we don’t expect to see a rapid recovery as long as inflation remains sticky and mortgage rates continue to fluctuate despite recent dips," said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. He also noted, though, the housing inventory in California was starting to increase, which would help bring gains in home sales.

In the Bay Area, Napa County saw the largest year-over-year increase, up 16.6%. Alameda County followed with a 14.4% surge. Marin County was the only Bay Area county to see a drop in prices, with the median falling 5% in April from the previous year.

Here are Bay Area median prices by county:

• San Mateo        $2,150,000

• Santa Clara       $2,000,000

• San Francisco   $1,800,000

• Marin                 $1,700,000

• Alameda            $1,401,250

• Napa                   $950,000

• Contra Costa      $940,000

• Sonoma              $850,000

• Solano                $590,000