U.S. home sale prices dropped slightly in March to a median of $295,100, according to a new report from Redfin.
The 0.1 percent year-over-year decline in home sale prices in March was the first since February 2012, when the median home sale price bottomed out at $171,600, Redfin said.
According to the report, nine of the 85 largest metropolitan areas Redfin tracks saw year-over-year declines in median price, including a 13 percent drop in San Jose and a 1 percent drop in San Francisco. Expensive West Coast markets, including Los Angeles; Orange County, Calif.; and Seattle had double-digit year-over-year declines in the number of homes sold, while several large affordable markets on the East Coast saw big annual sales gains.
“Homebuyers have backed off in West Coast metros where home prices have risen far out of their budgets,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a release. “The opposite is happening in more affordable metros where buyers are eager to buy now to take advantage of low mortgage rates.
“In California, where the tax burden is high, some people are finding they have to move out of state to afford to buy a home,” Fairweather added. “As a result, home sales are down in metros throughout the state.”
Overall, home sales increased 2 percent year-over-year in March. However, the number of homes sold in March fell in 37 of the 85 largest metropolitan areas that Redfin tracks.
”Salt Lake City and Las Vegas experienced rapid home price growth in 2017 and 2018,” Fairweather said. “Even though these metros are still affordable to Californians, home sales are likely down because it has become harder for locals to afford to buy homes.”