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| LIFE IN SOLERA | JUNE 2023 | 13 More favorable interest rates have perked up California sales for the third straight month in February, 2023. Existing single-family home sales totaled 284,010 in February, up 17.6 percent from January but down 33.2 percent from February 2022. February's statewide medium home price was $735,480, down 2.1 percent from January and down 4.8 percent from February 2022. Year-to-date statewide home sales were down 39.6 percent in February. A brief interest rate reprieve and softer home prices during January created a window of opportunity for homebuyers to dip their toes into the home-buying waters, which helped boost home sales to the highest level in five months. A shift toward more home sales in the lower-price segments is expected to continue to further soften home prices. However, with the availability of homes remaining extremely tight and housing supply conditions not expected to improve any time soon, prices should find bottom later this year as interest rates stabilize. The median price for a typical home at the state level had declined 18.3 percent from May 2022, when it reached its recent peak. With home prices expected to remain soft throughout the rest of 2023, the market will see larger price drops moving through the spring home- buying season. The recent failure of a handful of tech-focused banks caused an unexpected drop in interest rates, which could offer an opportunity in the near term for home buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines to lock in a lower rate. Any decline in rates is not likely to be substantial since inflation remains high. The median number of days it took to sell a California single- family home was 28 days in February and nine days in February 2022! California's sales-price-to-list-price ratio was 97.7 percent in February 2023 and 102.6 percent in February 2022. The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 6.26 percent in February, up from 3.76 percent in February 2022. Source: www.car.org March 16, 2023 California Sales & Market Forecast By Glenn and Nona Bradd, Broker Associates and Residents