Amid the lowest housing inventory levels of the year, existing home sales in California took off in June to their highest pace in nearly four years as existing home sales and median home price recorded strong gains on both a monthly and annual basis for the second straight month, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said Monday.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California not only remained above the 400,000 benchmark for the 15th consecutive month, they totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 443,150 units in June, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. The June figure was up 3.3% from the revised 428,890 level in May and up 2.4% compared with home sales in June 2016 of a revised 432,880. Year-to-date sales are running 3.2% ahead of last year's pace.

"A lack of available homes for sale continues to be the largest single factor influencing California's housing market," said C.A.R. President Geoff McIntosh. "With active listings 13.5% lower than last June, we've now experienced a full two years in which active listings have fallen on a year-over-year basis and the lowest inventory level this year. Would-be sellers aren't listing their homes as many of them would also face an inventory challenge if they were to turn around and buy another property."

The statewide median price remained above the $500,000 mark for the fourth straight month and reached the highest level since August 2007. The median price was up 0.9% from a revised $550,080 in May to reach $555,150 in June, and was 7.0% higher than the revised $518,830 recorded in June 2016.

"While June home sales improved at a healthy pace, the growth in sales was primarily in the mid- to higher-end price ranges. In fact, sales in the lower price ranges were down significantly as a tight supply of affordable homes continues to plague the market and impede the sales of starter homes," C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "This factor has disproportionately pushed prices higher at the lower end of the market, leading to eroding affordability that either prevents or delays first-time buyers from getting on the housing ladder."

Other key points from C.A.R.'s June 2017 resale housing report include:

  • The June sales increase was wide reaching as every major region in the state posted an increase over the previous month and year. The Inland Empire experienced the largest year-over-year sales gain with a 10.4% increase in existing home sales from last June, followed by an increase of 8.3% in the Los Angeles Metro Area, and a 6.1% rise in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • New statewide active listings have declined for a full two years straight in June, falling 13.5% from a year ago.
  • The increase in sales, coupled with the double-digit decline in active listings, lowered June's available housing supply. C.A.R.'s Unsold Inventory Index fell from 2.9 months in May to 2.7 months in June. The index stood at 3.2 months in June 2016.
  • At the county level, 39 of 51 reported counties experienced a drop in the unsold inventory index compared to a year ago. San Mateo (1.3 months), Santa Clara (1.4 months), and Alameda (1.6 months) counties had the lowest inventory, followed by San Francisco (1.7 months) and Contra Costa (1.9 months) counties.
  • The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was unchanged from May at 22.4 days but was down from 27.1 days in June 2016.
  • C.A.R.'s sales-to-list price ratio* was 100% of listing prices statewide in June, 100% in May, and 99.5% in June 2016.
  • The average price per square foot** for an existing, single-family home statewide was $270 in June, $267 in May, and $252 in June 2016.
  • San Francisco County had the highest price per square foot in June at $909/sq. ft., followed by San Mateo ($848/sq. ft.), and Santa Clara ($662/sq. ft.). Counties with the lowest price per square foot in June included Del Norte ($114/sq. ft.), Lassen ($131/sq. ft.), and Siskiyou ($133/sq. ft.).