After starting the year on a positive note in January, California home sales and median price backpedaled on a monthly basis in February, but still showed strong gains on a yearly basis, C.A.R. reported today.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California remained above the 400,000 benchmark for the 11th consecutive month and totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 400,500 units in February, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. The February figure was down 4.7 percent from the 420,100 level in January and up 4.9 percent compared with home sales in February 2016 of a revised 381,770, which was the weakest sales level in 2016.
The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home fell below the $500,000 mark for the second straight month, but home prices remain seasonably strong. The median price was down 2.2 percent from $489,680 in January to hit $478,790 in February.
Despite the back-to-back monthly price decline, February’s median price still registered a 7.6 percent increase from the revised $444,780 recorded a year ago. The annual gain was the largest year-over-year increase since January 2016 and was higher than the three-month average of 4.5 percent prior to February 2016.
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