California existing home sales fell in November from both the previous month and year for the first time in nearly a year as low housing affordability extended into Southern California, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).
Making sense of the story
- Home sales posted below the 400,000 level in November for the first time since March 2015 and were at the lowest level since February 2015.
- Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 369,680 units in November.
- The November figure was down 8.4 percent from the revised 403,580 level in October and down 1.6 percent compared with home sales in November 2014 of a revised 375,740.
- The year-to-year decrease was the first since January 2015 and was significantly below the six-month average of 8.3 percent observed between May 2015 and October 2015.
- “The affordability crunch that has dampened home sales in the Bay Area for the past year or so could be spreading to other higher-priced areas, such as Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange County,” said 2016 C.A.R. President Ziggy Zicarelli.
- The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home dipped 0.2 percent in November to $475,000 from $475,990 in October. November’s median price was 6.8 percent higher than the revised $444,630 recorded in November 2014.
- As sales activity softened in November, there were also fewer active listings compared to the previous year. The number of active listings continued to drop from both the previous month and year. Active listings at the statewide level dropped 11.1 percent from October and decreased 8.8 percent from November 2014.
