The California Association of Realtors November home sales report found the state saw declining prices on both a monthly and annual basis, likely due in part to seasonality.
Throughout the state, single-family home sales reached only 369,680, which is the first time in eight months that sales did not surpass the 400,000 mark. This marked a 8.4 percent decrease over October and 1.6 percent dip from November 2014.
The statewide median home price fell monthly a sliver by 0.2 percent to $475,000, and 6.8 percent from the same month in 2014.
In November home sales activity in San Francisco Bay Area dipped by nearly 17 percent month-over month; however, the region is the only area of California where homes are routinely selling above original asking prices.
CAR attributes this to the lack of homes for sale in the Bay. At the end of November, the region had 2.3 months of unsold inventory, which nearly matches supply levels seen at the end of November 2014, 2.2 months.
Also relatively unchanged was the average days a property is on the market, 24.7 days. During last November the average list time was 25.2 days.
Aided by this inventory and list time has been the region’s median home price, which has yet to dip. As of November the median price stood at $791,850, a month-to-month rise of 0.2 percent and a year-over-year increase of 7.8 percent.
The Bay Area counties of San Francisco, Santa Clara, Sonoma and Contra Costa have all seen median values rise by double-digits on a year-over-over basis. San Francisco and Santa Clara lead the way with 13.8 percent and 13.5 percent increases, respectively.
In all these counties month-to-month sales activity dipped by more than 10 percent. Contra Costa and San Francisco counties saw declines that exceeded 22 percent. CAR pointed to new loan disclosure rules as one reason for the drop in activity, as the new disclosure forms are delaying closings statewide.
To the south in Los Angeles County sales activity is down more than in any Bay Area region, by 28.3 percent on a month-over-month basis. Of more concern, sales activity is down 5.5 percent on a year-over-year basis. Orange County, while posting a decrease, wasn’t as significant as Los Angeles County, falling 19.6 percent.
However, Orange County as well as Riverside and San Bernardino reported a month-over-month increase in median sold price with a 0.9 percent, 0.8 percent and 2.1 percent increase, respectively.
While the area’s median price of $457,780 is up 5.5 percent year-over-year, it is also down by 10.1 percent when compared to October 2015. At the end of November unsold inventory stood at 4.4 months, with median time on the market reaching 47.3 days.
