The California Association of Realtors (CAR) reported at the end of February that the State’s housing market kicked off the year on a positive note, following on from December, with double-digit price and sales growth on a yearly basis in January 2021.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 485,000 in January 2021, according to information collected by CAR, which was up 22.5% from a year ago, when 396,000 homes were sold on an annualized basis. The year-over-year, double-digit sales gain was the sixth consecutive and the third straight month that sales increased more than 20% from a year earlier.

However, after hitting a record high price the previous month, California's median home price dipped by 2.5% to just below the $700,000 benchmark in January. But low mortgage rates and tight supply continued to push up home prices on a year-over-year basis, gaining 21.7% from the $575,000 recorded in January 2020.

“With the vaccine continuing to roll out, another fiscal stimulus relief package likely on the way and historically low interest rates, the housing market will continue to thrive,” said CAR vice president and chief economist Jordan Levine.