Huntington Beach, CA – March 15: A home for sale sign in front of a house in Huntington Beach. The National Assn. of Realtors on Friday said it will make changes to its commission rules to settle national allegations the requirements stifled competition, a move that may reduce costs for consumers. The settlement, which still must receive court approval, could mark a major change in the housing market. Today, sellers typically pay a 5% to 6% commission when they sell their homes, with half of that going to the listing agent and half to the buyer’s agent. Photo taken in Huntington Beach Friday, March 15, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Home sales in California grew by double digits for the second straight month in February as buyers took advantage of falling mortgage rates, according to data released this week by the California Association of Realtors.
The sale of single-family homes statewide climbed 12.8% in February after January saw sales up nearly 15% over the prior month.
Median prices were also higher in every region.
The San Francisco Bay Area, with the state’s highest median home price of $1,256,000, saw sales and prices climb by double digits month over month and year over year, according to CAR.
Southern California, where the median single-family home is $825,000, saw prices climb by a modest 5% last month and nearly 11% over February of last year.
“Home sales are actually increasing throughout the United States, and it has a lot to do with lower interest rates at the beginning of the year,” Oscar Wei, the Association’s deputy chief economist, told KTLA 5 News. “Interest rates hit a high of around 8% in October of last year and then started declining a little because inflation started to ease.”
As of March 19, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.74%, according to government-backed lender Freddie Mac, which is still far from the all-time low of 2.65% that homebuyers enjoyed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even small declines in mortgage rates, Wei says, are appealing to prospective homebuyers, many of whom were sitting on the sidelines as rates soared.
“You can only delay so long,” Wei says. “You want to expand your family. You want to buy a bigger house because you have additional people in your household. You can put it off for maybe six months or a year, but then eventually, you have to make a decision.”
Wei, however, cautions that California home sales might not continue their gains through March as mortgage rates have edged higher in recent weeks.
“It would not be a surprise if we start seeing some softening this month and maybe in April, but I do believe that, as we move more into the home-buying season, we will probably see some improvement in both price and sales,” he said.
February 2024 California Single-Family Home Sales
| Region/County | Feb 2024 | Jan 2024 | Feb 2023 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Single-Family Homes | $806,490 | $789,480 | $735,300 | 2.2% | 9.7% | 12.8% | 1.3% |
| Condo/Twnhs | $660,000 | $630,000 | $615,000 | 4.8% | 7.3% | 24.3% | 15.0% |
| Los Angeles Metro | $790,000 | $750,000 | $710,000 | 5.3% | 11.3% | 13.2% | 6.7% |
| Central Coast | $950,000 | $926,000 | $856,000 | 2.6% | 11.0% | 15.6% | 18.7% |
| Central Valley | $478,200 | $460,000 | $450,000 | 4.0% | 6.3% | 11.2% | 0.8% |
| Far North | $379,000 | $361,500 | $369,000 | 4.8% | 2.7% | 1.4% | 12.5% |
| Inland Empire | $576,500 | $559,280 | $549,900 | 3.1% | 4.8% | 14.8% | 3.9% |
| S.F. Bay Area | $1,256,500 | $1,100,000 | $1,025,000 | 14.2% | 22.6% | 24.8% | 14.9% |
| Southern Calif. | $825,000 | $786,000 | $744,400 | 5.0% | 10.8% | 14.7% | 7.0% |
| S.F. Bay Area | Feb-24 | Jan-24 | Feb-23 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Alameda | $1,300,000 | $1,103,000 | $1,066,000 | 17.9% | 22.0% | 40.6% | 9.8% |
| Contra Costa | $850,000 | $770,000 | $750,000 | 10.4% | 13.3% | 20.0% | 11.9% |
| Marin | $1,610,000 | $1,524,500 | $1,447,500 | 5.6% | 11.2% | 19.0% | -9.2% |
| Napa | $882,500 | $989,500 | $830,000 | -10.8% | 6.3% | 52.9% | 36.8% |
| San Francisco | $1,590,000 | $1,530,000 | $1,465,000 | 3.9% | 8.5% | 46.2% | 41.7% |
| San Mateo | $1,922,500 | $1,975,000 | $2,080,000 | -2.7% | -7.6% | 56.7% | 22.1% |
| Santa Clara | $1,808,890 | $1,710,440 | $1,500,000 | 5.8% | 20.6% | 25.9% | 32.8% |
| Solano | $580,000 | $575,000 | $555,000 | 0.9% | 4.5% | -0.5% | 5.8% |
| Sonoma | $826,500 | $829,900 | $774,500 | -0.4% | 6.7% | -2.9% | -3.4% |
| Southern Calif. | Feb-24 | Jan-24 | Feb-23 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Imperial | $355,000 | $380,000 | $325,000 | -6.6% | 9.2% | 2.9% | -2.7% |
| Los Angeles | $817,100 | $833,000 | $726,870 | -1.9% | 12.4% | 8.4% | 6.3% |
| Orange | $1,350,000 | $1,320,000 | $1,159,000 | 2.3% | 16.5% | 23.6% | 12.4% |
| Riverside | $636,000 | $610,000 | $595,000 | 4.3% | 6.9% | 23.1% | 7.0% |
| San Bernardino | $477,070 | $477,500 | $466,500 | -0.1% | 2.3% | 1.1% | -1.8% |
| San Diego | $980,000 | $925,000 | $878,000 | 5.9% | 11.6% | 20.9% | 8.1% |
| Ventura | $890,000 | $870,000 | $805,000 | 2.3% | 10.6% | 9.6% | 14.2% |
| Central Coast | Feb-24 | Jan-24 | Feb-23 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Monterey | $860,000 | $825,000 | $775,500 | 4.2% | 10.9% | 5.4% | -2.0% |
| San Luis Obispo | $900,000 | $910,000 | $795,000 | -1.1% | 13.2% | 24.8% | 36.0% |
| Santa Barbara | $976,000 | $1,280,000 | $860,000 | -23.8% | 13.5% | 13.8% | 23.4% |
| Santa Cruz | $1,232,500 | $1,190,000 | $1,201,000 | 3.6% | 2.6% | 16.4% | 12.3% |
| Central Valley | Feb-24 | Jan-24 | Feb-23 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Fresno | $420,000 | $406,000 | $385,000 | 3.4% | 9.1% | 7.7% | -1.3% |
| Glenn | $360,000 | $349,000 | $295,000 | 3.2% | 22.0% | 22.2% | 57.1% |
| Kern | $386,500 | $375,000 | $375,000 | 3.1% | 3.1% | 9.5% | 8.0% |
| Kings | $339,950 | $365,000 | $352,000 | -6.9% | -3.4% | 14.3% | 9.8% |
| Madera | $417,880 | $466,080 | $378,000 | -10.3% | 10.6% | 53.5% | 46.7% |
| Merced | $401,600 | $380,000 | $381,950 | 5.7% | 5.1% | 8.2% | 50.0% |
| Placer | $650,000 | $620,000 | $631,250 | 4.8% | 3.0% | 19.4% | -9.0% |
| Sacramento | $530,000 | $515,000 | $499,000 | 2.9% | 6.2% | 18.0% | 0.4% |
| San Benito | $795,000 | $760,000 | $730,000 | 4.6% | 8.9% | 16.7% | 25.0% |
| San Joaquin | $529,000 | $530,000 | $513,900 | -0.2% | 2.9% | -2.0% | -9.4% |
| Stanislaus | $460,000 | $450,000 | $430,000 | 2.2% | 7.0% | 1.8% | -4.7% |
| Tulare | $359,990 | $349,000 | $340,000 | 3.1% | 5.9% | -2.5% | -5.4% |
| Far North | Feb-24 | Jan-24 | Feb-23 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Butte | $451,120 | $390,000 | $405,000 | 15.7% | 11.4% | 13.8% | -12.0% |
| Lassen | $263,000 | $229,000 | $212,500 | 14.8% | 23.8% | 28.6% | 50.0% |
| Plumas | $370,000 | $363,620 | $305,000 | 1.8% | 21.3% | 0.0% | 112.5% |
| Shasta | $366,250 | $395,000 | $350,000 | -7.3% | 4.6% | -6.5% | 13.4% |
| Siskiyou | $340,000 | $329,000 | $208,000 | 3.3% | 63.5% | 10.5% | 23.5% |
| Tehama | $349,000 | $340,000 | $332,000 | 2.6% | 5.1% | -11.5% | 4.5% |
| Trinity | $280,000 | $402,500 | NA | -30.4% | NA | 250.0% | NA |
| Other Counties | Feb-24 | Jan-24 | Feb-23 | Price MTM% | Price YTY% | Sales MTM% | Sales YTY% |
| Amador | $407,500 | $444,500 | $415,000 | -8.3% | -1.8% | -15.8% | 3.2% |
| Calaveras | $475,000 | $434,500 | $437,500 | 9.3% | 8.6% | -29.5% | 3.3% |
| Del Norte | $295,000 | $295,000 | $300,000 | 0.0% | -1.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% |
| El Dorado | $647,500 | $650,000 | $622,000 | -0.4% | 4.1% | 34.5% | 29.0% |
| Humboldt | $420,000 | $410,000 | $417,250 | 2.4% | 0.7% | 18.5% | 28.0% |
| Lake | $315,000 | $325,000 | $305,000 | -3.1% | 3.3% | -8.9% | 7.9% |
| Mariposa | $390,000 | $431,500 | $353,000 | -9.6% | 10.5% | -33.3% | 60.0% |
| Mendocino | $499,000 | $494,000 | $495,500 | 1.0% | 0.7% | -21.4% | 22.2% |
| Mono | $1,097,500 | $1,304,500 | $802,500 | -15.9% | 36.8% | 300.0% | 300.0% |
| Nevada | $530,000 | $525,000 | $475,000 | 1.0% | 11.6% | -5.3% | 2.9% |
| Sutter | $415,000 | $435,000 | $412,500 | -4.6% | 0.6% | -2.8% | -20.5% |
| Tuolumne | $430,000 | $360,750 | $361,000 | 19.2% | 19.1% | -8.3% | 77.4% |
| Yolo | $618,940 | $600,360 | $545,000 | 3.1% | 13.6% | 9.2% | 18.6% |
| Yuba | $426,500 | $455,000 | $432,760 | -6.3% | -1.4% | 30.4% | 22.4% |
