CA Housing Market Shows Shift Toward Buyers

LOS ANGELES, CA — The home-sales market in California is shifting slightly toward buyers, according to a pair of reports from Redfin, a real estate brokerage platform.

Buyers may be gaining negotiating power as homes sit longer on the market, though mortgage rates remain elevated. It is still a relatively solid market for sellers, but not as strong as in recent years. While prices continue to hold up, homes are taking longer to sell and more sellers are cutting prices.

U.S. pending home sales declined in early April, another sign the housing market is cooling as higher borrowing costs and affordability pressures sideline buyers.

New data from Redfin show pending sales fell 2.4 percent year over year, the steepest drop in three months. Mortgage rates climbed into the mid-6 percent range, pushing typical monthly payments to about $2,750.

Homes are also taking longer to sell, with the typical property going under contract in about 51 days — the slowest pace for this time of year since before the pandemic. At the same time, the median sale price rose about 2 percent annually to roughly $393,000.

A growing number of sellers are adjusting to weaker demand by cutting prices. Roughly one-third, or 34 percent, of listings have seen price reductions — the highest share for this time of year in more than a decade — underscoring a shift in leverage toward buyers.

Metro-Level Data For February 2026

Anaheim
Share of sellers cutting prices: 20.7 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $142,463
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 6 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $27,949
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 1.1 percent

Los Angeles
Share of sellers cutting prices: 24.0 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $117,727
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 7 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $26,478
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 1.5 percent

Oakland
Share of sellers cutting prices: 14.3 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $60,579
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 6.3 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $7,521
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 0.8 percent

Riverside
Share of sellers cutting prices: 32.7 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $51,166
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 6.4 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $16,133
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 2.0 percent

Sacramento
Share of sellers cutting prices: 26.0 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $46,337
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 5.6 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $11,464
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 1.3 percent

San Diego
Share of sellers cutting prices: 22.0 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $77,416
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 5.9 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $14,872
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 1.1 percent

San Francisco
Share of sellers cutting prices: 7.4 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $142,836
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 7.7 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $7,777
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 0.4 percent

San Jose
Share of sellers cutting prices: 11.1 percent
Average price cut (among those who cut): $152,108
Average price cut (among those who cut, %): 6.8 percent
Average price cut (all sellers): $13,831
Average price cut (all sellers, %): 0.6 percent

Price cuts remain uneven across the country. They are most common in Sun Belt markets that saw pandemic-era booms, while tighter-inventory regions, particularly in the Northeast, have been more resilient.

Broader Redfin data show the share of homes with price drops has been rising, reflecting a market where sellers are increasingly willing to negotiate and buyers are gaining bargaining power.

The combination of slowing sales, longer listing times and more frequent price cuts points to a housing market in transition. While prices have not fallen nationally, conditions are tilting toward buyers as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty dampen demand during what is typically the busy spring homebuying season.