The statewide median home price hit a second straight record in May as luxury sales surge and supply tightens toward multi-year lows
California's housing market delivered a split result in May: sales climbed at their fastest annual pace in eight months, yet the statewide median home price reached a new record for the second consecutive month.
According to data released by the California Association of Realtors, existing single-family home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 268,810, up 5.1% from a year earlier and the strongest year-over-year gain since September 2025.
On a month-over-month basis, sales fell 3.1% from April's revised 277,360 units.
Year-to-date, sales are up 1.2% through the first five months of 2026.
Despite the gain, California has now remained below the 300,000-unit benchmark for the 44th consecutive month.
The statewide median reached $930,260, up 3.1% from $902,040 in May 2025 and 2.3% above April's downwardly revised $909,410.
The monthly gain was more than double the historical April-to-May average over the past 30 years, per C.A.R.
"California's home sales softened in May as broader economic uncertainty continued to weigh on consumer confidence and homebuying sentiment," said Tamara Suminski, C.A.R. president and a Southern California broker.
"Even so, the recent easing in mortgage rates is an encouraging development, and if that trend continues, it could help bring more buyers and sellers back into the market."
Luxury sales tilt the statewide mix
The record median reflects a sharp skew toward high-end transactions. Sales of homes priced between $1 million and $2 million rose 8.2% year over year; the above-$2-million segment climbed 8.5%. Million-dollar homes accounted for a record 38.5% of all statewide transactions.
In contrast, the $500,000-to-$1-million range — central to the middle-income market — fell 3.4%, consistent with the affordability and risk pressures that ATTOM's Q1 2026 data placed at the top of California's housing market concerns.
The median price per square foot rose to $447 from $439 in May 2025.
Supply tightens further heading into summer
The Unsold Inventory Index (UII) rose 3% from April but fell 10.5% year over year, the sharpest annual decline since December 2023.
Active listings dropped below year-ago levels for the fourth consecutive month.
Of the 53 counties tracked by C.A.R., 40 recorded year-over-year declines; San Francisco led all markets with a 42% drop from May 2025.
"Housing supply has remained constrained in recent months as the lock-in effect continued to put many would-be sellers on the sidelines, intensifying competition and placing upward pressure on home prices," said Jordan Levine, C.A.R. senior vice president and chief economist.
"The recent easing of tensions in the Middle East could bring more buyers back into the market and keep price pressures up at the start of the third quarter."
For brokers, the rate environment offers partial relief. The average 30-year fixed rate declined to 6.47% for the week ending June 18, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
With mortgage rates broadly forecast to keep the US housing market subdued through 2026, the median time to sell held at 22 days and the sales-price-to-list ratio remained at 100%.
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