California’s housing market remained a work in progress with fewer homes sales and lower home prices in San Diego County in November 2024, according to the latest home sales and price report from the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.).
The pace for home sales in San Diego decreased by 13.8% in November 2024 from October 2024, although year-over-year sales between November 2024 and November 2023 were 18.7% higher. November’s decrease was preceded by an increase by 10.5% in October 2024, compared to September 2024.
Statewide, home sales in November 2024 experienced its largest annual increase since June 2021. California’s sales pace declined by 1.1% in November 2024, compared to October 2024.
However, home sales statewide saw a double-digit growth rate of 19.5% in November 2024, compared to November 2023.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 267,800 in November 2024, which was well below the pre-Covid norm of 400,000 units.
The strong year-over-year gain observed in November 2024 was largely due to low-base effects, as home sales in November 2023 dropped to their lowest level since late 2007. Year-to-date statewide home sales edged up 3.1 percent.
“Mortgage rates continue to remain elevated, leading to challenges for many buyers. However, home prices are growing at a moderate pace and housing supply is increasing, indicating some hope that the market will continue to improve next year,” said 2025 C.A.R. President Heather Ozur, a Palm Springs REALTOR®.
Home prices also dropped in November 2024. The average price for an existing, single-family detached home in San Diego was $975,000 in November 2024, a difference of 3.5% with October 2024’s median price of $1,010,000.
It was the first time in the past eight months the median monthly price for a San Diego County home was below $1 million.
A year ago, in November 2023, the median price for a San Diego home was $952,000, a 2.4% difference with November 2024.
Statewide, the median home sales price was 4% lower in November 2024, when the price was $852,880, compared to $888,740 in October 2024. A year ago, in November 2023, the statewide median price was $821,710, a difference of 3.8% compared to November 2024.
On a month-to-month basis, the statewide November 2024 median price had the largest October-to-November drop since 2008 after recording the biggest September-to-October increase in the prior month.
The statewide year-over-year gain was the 16th straight month of annual price increases. The September-to-October price gain was the largest in 45 years.
The sizable monthly decline in California home prices in November 2024 was due primarily to a change in the mix of sales, as home sales in the higher-price segments pulled back more sharply from the prior month than in the lower-price segments. Home sales in higher-priced market segments continued to have an effect on the overall price growth.
While the impact on the statewide median price gain had moderated in recent months, a solid increase in high-end home sales in November 2024 was still a contributing factor for the rise in the California median sold price.
November 2024 County Sales and Price Activity
(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)
“Home prices are expected to moderate further in the next couple of months if they follow the seasonal trend, but should continue to grow in the first quarter of 2025 before the kick-off of the spring homebuying season,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “With mortgage rates expected to moderate in 2025, housing sentiment will continue to improve throughout the next 12 months, and more consumers will get off the sidelines as they acclimate further to the new market environment.”
Other key points from C.A.R.’s November 2024 resale housing report include:
- At the regional level, home sales in Southern California increased 8.7% in November 2024 when compared to last year’s sales level.
- At the regional level, median home prices in Southern California experienced a 3.1% increase in November 2024, compared to November 2023.
- Home prices increased on a year-over-year basis in more than two-thirds of the counties in California, with November’s median sold prices rising from their year-ago levels in 38 of the 53 counties monitored by C.A.R.
- The statewide unsold inventory index, which measures the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, increased in both month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons. The index was 3.3 months in November 2024, up from 3.1 months in October 2024 and up from 2.9 months in November 2023.
November 2024 County Unsold Inventory and Days on Market
- The unsold inventory index of available existing homes for sale in San Diego County was at 2.9 months in November 2024, compared to 2.8 months in October 2024, 3.2 months in September 2024, 2.8 months in August 2024, 2.6 months in July 2024, 2.7 months in June 2024 and 2.5 months in November 2023. The index measures the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
- With market activity remaining slow during the holiday season and mortgage rates likely to stay elevated, housing supply could inch up further at the start of 2025.
- The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 26 days in November 2024, up from 25 days in October 2024 and21 days in November 2023
- In San Diego, the median number of days it took to sell an existing, single-family home was 20 days in November 2024, compared to 20 days in October 2024, 18 days in September 2024, 17 days in August 2024 and 14 days in September 2023. For previous months in 2024, the figures were 16 days in July, 14 days in June and 12 days in May, April and March. The median represents the time when half the homes sell above it and half below it.
- The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 6.81 percent in November 2024, down from 7.44 percent in November 2023, according to C.A.R.’s calculations based on Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey data.