California Housing Market Data Show Sales and Prices Both Down in March

The uptick in mortgage interest rates nudged down California home sales in March, while home prices in the state also declined, according to data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR), as reported by CalculatedRisk.

Existing, single-family home sales totaled 281,050 in March 2023 (seasonally adjusted annualized rate), which was down 1% from February and, more significantly, down 34.2% from March the previous year. And the statewide median home price in March was $791,490, which is an increase of 7.6% from earlier this year in February and a 7% drop from March 2022.

Closed sales in March were mostly for contracts signed in January and February. Since 30-year fixed mortgage rates were over 6% for all of January and February - compared to 4% range the previous year - closed sales were down significantly year-over-year in March. However, the impact was probably not as severe as for closed sales in December and January (rates were the highest in October and November 2022 when contracts were signed for closing in December and January).

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