RivCo, IE Sees Increases In Home Sales Amid Golden State's Downward Trend

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Home sales may have declined in California in March amid rising prices, according to the California Association of Realtors, but a recent report notes that Riverside County and the Inland Empire saw increases in home sales. Many buyers and sellers lagged in a holding pattern amid global uncertainty, according to that report.

Statewide, sales of existing, single-family homes totaled 265,320 in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 3.5% from February and down 2.5% from March 2025.

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In Riverside County, we saw a 30.4% increase in home sales in March and a 0.2% increase over March of 2025. The Inland Empire region also saw a 31.1% increase from February and a 2.3% increase from last year.

Following the traditional seasonal pattern, the statewide median home price rose solidly from February to March but only inched up slightly on a year- over-year basis.

The median home price rose 2% in Riverside County, from $631,000 to $643,740, a 0.8% increase from one year ago. The Inland Empire's median price rose 1.5% last month, from $601,350 to $610,480, 0.2% lower than last year.

California's median price increased 7.1% from February, from $830,370 to $889,190 -- 0.4% higher than one year ago.

"March home sales were subdued, as higher mortgage rates and stock market volatility kept many buyers on the sidelines," CAR President Tamara Suminski said Tuesday. "As both geopolitical tension and interest rates ease for the third straight week, buyers and sellers who have been taking a wait-and- see strategy could return to the market if the conflict in the Middle East continues to stabilize."

All five major regions in California recorded year-over-year sales increases on a non-seasonally adjusted basis last month, but the yearly gains were due primarily to an additional business transaction day in March this year compared to last year, CAR said.

The statewide sales numbers reported by CAR are seasonally adjusted and annualized to account for factors that typically influence home sales. Localized sales figures for March are not seasonally adjusted and therefore do not reflect the overall decrease in sales.

In March, the county with the highest median home price in California was San Mateo County, at $2.25 million. The lowest median price was Lassen County's $216,000, up 8.5% from the previous month.