California Real Estate's Shifting Sands

California's housing market may not be experiencing a downturn, but its conditions are shifting. The Golden State had its largest year-over-year sales decline in four years in September 2018.

Additionally, California's single-family escrow sales declined 4.3 percent month-over-month, and the median home price decreased 2.9 percent in that time. In the perennially-hot market of the San Francisco Bay Area, sales were down 16.4 percent for the month, the biggest drop in eight years. The California Association of Realtors say that the rate of home price appreciation in the Bay Area is continuing to slow down, with median price annual decline of 9.8 percent. CAR senior vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young says, “Buyers are becoming increasingly concerned about market developments and are reluctant to purchase at the prevailing market price. As such, the deceleration in price growth will likely continue in coming months," The East Bay Times reports.

Statewide active listings rose for the sixth consecutive month, increasing 20.4 percent from the previous year. September’s listings increase was the biggest in nearly four years. The Bay Area had the largest increase in active listings, with a surge of 44 percent year over year. In Santa Clara County, active listings more than doubled (+113 percent) from September last year. “We’ve always said real estate is a cycle and while we’re not concerned about a downturn, this shift in the market indicates buyers may have more negotiating power now than a year ago,” said Bill Moody, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

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