Announcements
For release:
May 16, 2011
California home sales decline in April; median home price increases
LOS ANGELES (May 16) – California home sales declined in April, while home prices increased, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 499,830 units in April, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. April home sales were down 2.9 percent from March but up 5 percent from the previous year. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2011 if sales maintained the April pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
“An improving economy, coupled with the steady pace of distressed sales in the market and the typical seasonal pattern in the median home price, suggests the statewide median price has reached its low point for this year and is unlikely to hit the bottom reached in February 2009,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.
The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California rose 2.5 percent in April to $293,570, up from a revised $286,510 in March. April’s median price was down 4.4 percent from the $307,000 recorded in April 2010.
“While down from March, April’s sales level still was solid, posting the strongest year-over-year sales gain since August 2009,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “At this point in the cycle, the market seems to be responding to the fundamentals of the housing market and economy, and sales are on track to match or slightly exceed last year’s figures.”