Monterey County median home price at $970K in April, up 8% over last year
SALINAS – The Monterey County real estate market is entering its summer selling season with the median price of a single-family home pegged at $970,000 in April, increasing 8% over the same time last year.
“It’s not surprising the median price for single-family homes in Monterey County settled at $970,000 for now,” said Adam Pinterits, Monterey County Association of Realtors government and community affairs director. “We hit a new record high median price late last year, but that was also when new listings were trending toward a 3-year low and inventory toward its second lowest point in that time.”
Last October, the median price of a single-family home in Monterey County his a record high of $1,093,000. In March of this year, it stood at $932,500.
“As the summer selling season begins and we have a modest increase in listings, sellers who are on a timeline to sell price their home accordingly,” said Pinterits.
In April, homes in Monterey County sold in 10 days for 100% of the list price based on 136 sales, according to the MLSListings county summary. Inventory was up 12% from March, and up 24% from April 2023. Median days on the market decreased from 13 to 10 (down 23%) from March, and decreased from 17 to 10 (down 41%) from April of last year. The number of new listings was up 12% in April from March, and up 34% from April 2023. Closed sales decreased 9% from March, but increased 4% from April of last year.
“To some degree it is always a seller’s market in Monterey County due to decades of under-building, and that is not likely to change until local governments get serious about facilitating more home construction,” said Pinterits. “But that does not mean that buyers should wait. Homeownership opportunities closer to entry-level prices do come up, and when they do, buyers want to already be working with a realtor so they are prepared.”
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was about 7.74% on Monday.
Pinterits explained that mortgage rate improvements will help buyers nationwide, and sellers who become buyers in turn. However, he said, this impact is reduced in Monterey County because of the ongoing imbalance between local housing supply and high demand.
The number of new listings in Monterey County increased 34% year-over-year in April which indicates that better rates are helping some prospective sellers get off the fence, he said.
“Keep in mind this increase is in the context of decades of constrained inventory,” said Pinterits. “This is really just marginally closer to the availability and affordability we would have if enough homes had been built in the first place.”
Inventory was up 24% year-over-year in Monterey County in April.
Pinterits said that out of the 464 active listings in Monterey County on June 5, only 24 or 5% were built within the last year. Compared to neighboring counties, 10 of Santa Cruz’s 426 listings (2%), 159 of Santa Clara’s 1,707 listings (9%), 37 of San Benito’s 134 listings (28%) and 37 of San Luis Obispo’s 463 listings (3%) were built in the last year.
The Monterey County real estate market forecast for the rest of the year in terms of the median home price is not expected “to see significant price improvements for buyers,” said Pinterits. “But some outlier opportunities may come up in which sellers are motivated to sell quickly. Despite improved rates and inventory compared to the last few years, the demand for housing still significantly outpaces how many homes are available.”
