Add The California Post on Google A new report found that California’s housing market is being propped up by rich people trading spaces while everyday residents are running to other states for relief.
The state’s housing market continues to be soul-crushingly expensive as California median home prices in April climbed to a record high of $914,810, according to the latest figures from the California Association of Realtors.
Sales of existing single-family homes rose 3.9% from March and 4.1% compared to April 2025, marking the largest year-over-year increase in seven months. The statewide median price increased 2.9% from March, crossing the $900,000 mark for the first time since May 2025.
The explosive rise in home sale prices was mostly driven by more activity in higher-end housing markets, according to the realtors association. Sales of homes priced at $2 million or more jumped 8.4% compared to April 2025.
Jordan Levine, the group’s chief economist, cautioned that the larger share of expensive homes changing hands doesn’t necessarily mean the market is on solid ground.
“Housing affordability remains a significant challenge in California,” Levine said.
California’s sky-high cost of living is continuing to push residents out of the state, according to a March report from the California Policy Lab.
The report found Californians who leave the state relocate to neighborhoods where housing costs are an average of $672 cheaper per month, while rents are roughly 30% lower and median home prices are nearly $396,000 less expensive.
Researchers also noted Californians pay about 11% more for groceries, 40% more for gas and 61% more for utilities than the national average.
During 2025 alone, nearly 150,000 more people left California than moved into the state, continuing a years-long trend of domestic outmigration tied largely to affordability concerns, according to the California Policy Lab.
Matt Ingles, 41, recently told The Post that he was thriving after moving out of California with his wife and two children to Dripping Springs, Texas.
“My quality of life here is significantly better,” Ingles said. “But that’s more than just finances.”
The rising cost of living has fueled a steady migration of Californians to lower-cost states like Texas, as well as Arizona, Nevada and Tennessee, where median home prices are often hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper.
As a result, the Golden State lost $91.4 billion in net income between 2019 and 2023 as people fled the region, according to IRS data.
In Placer County, the median home price hit $675,000 in April, while Sacramento County’s median price stood at $546,420 — levels that still require six-figure household incomes for many buyers to comfortably afford monthly payments at current mortgage rates.
Tamara Suminski, president of the state realtors association, said buyer demand hasn’t been shaken by higher interest rates and increasing costs for gas and other goods.
“While elevated mortgage rates and ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East continue to weigh on the market, California buyers and sellers are still finding opportunities,” Suminski said in a statement.
The San Francisco Bay Area posted one of the state’s strongest sales increases, with sales up 5.5% from a year ago, even as median prices in the region dipped 1.3%. The county of San Francisco itself saw median home prices jump 19.5% year-over-year to more than $2.1 million.
Southern California home sales rose 8% annually, while the Central Valley posted a 10.1% increase. The biggest annual sales surge was in the Far North region at 24.6%.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.33% in April, down from 6.73% a year earlier, though slightly above March levels.
Despite the recent gains, California buyers are still feeling an affordability crunch as statewide home sales remained below 300,000 for 43rd straight month.
