Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Median California Home Price Sets Record in April

CITY NEWS SERVICE

California’s median home price reached a record last month while sales picked up steam as well, the California Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

The median price of an existing, single-family home in California was $914,810 in April, up from $889,190 in March.

Sales totaled 275,580 in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 3.9% from March and 4.1% from April 2025.

CAR said the numbers were fueled by lower mortgage rates early in the month and strong market activity in higher-priced segments.

“April’s year-over-year increase in home sales is a welcome sign that buyer demand remains resilient as we move deeper into the spring home buying season,” said CAR President Tamara Suminski, a Southern California broker and Realtor. “While elevated mortgage rates and ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East continue to weigh on the market, California buyers and sellers are still finding opportunities, and that speaks to the underlying strength of housing demand.”

Prices rose in the Southland too in April, with Los Angeles County’s median price increasing to $845,410 from $828,300 in March, still less than the $850,270 in April 2025.

For the Los Angeles metro area, the median price rose to $860,000 from $838,060 in March, and up from $850,000 on year ago.

Orange County’ median price was $1.47 million in April, up from $1.467 million in March and $1.417 million one year ago.

Sales in Los Angeles County were up 15% from March and 4.1% from March 2025, while in the Los Angeles metro area they were up 6.2% in March and .2% from one year ago.

Orange County’s sales were up 5.5% from one month ago and .8% from one year ago.

Homes priced at or above $2 million experienced the largest sales jump, increasing 8.4 percent from April 2025, CAR said.

“The increase in the median price was driven in large part by the composition of sales, with a greater share of activity occurring in higher- priced segments of the market,” CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine said. “Nevertheless, housing affordability remains a significant challenge in California, particularly as the statewide median home price reached a new record high amid tight supply and continued competition in many markets.”

The county with the highest median home price in California in April was Mono County at $2.55 million, followed by San Mateo County at $2.3 million. The lowest median price was Lassen County’s $285,000, which was 31.9% higher than the previous month.