Real estate prices rose dramatically in August, a report published by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) said.
The median price for an existing, single-family home increased 1.7 percent from July and 18.7 percent from August last year, reaching a record high of $1,068,000. Total sales in August went above the 400,000 level, rising 6.3 percent from July and were up 14.6 percent compared to the previous year.
According to 2020 CAR President Jeanne Radsick, prices have been climbing recently, despite the pandemic, due to the lowest interest rates ever.
“California's strong housing recovery in terms of sales and price over the past few months is encouraging as motivated buyers are eager to purchase homes amid the lowest interest rates ever, which led to the fastest sales growth in a decade", she said.
However, "heavy buyer competition" is likely to push prices even higher, making it harder to afford a home.
Neither the coronavirus pandemic nor the ongoing wildfires seem to be slowing the continued growth in housing prices in the Bay Area. In California, as well as in Oregon and Washington, fires have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
