California Housing Market

In September, home prices in California saw a increased of 3.5% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, home sales increased by 17.6% , and the number of homes for sale rose by 24.6%.

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California Housing Market Overview

In September 2024, home prices in California increased by 3.5% compared to the previous year, with a median sale price of $813,000. The number of homes sold increased by 17.6% year-over-year, with 25,573 homes sold in 2024, compared to 21,743 in 2023. Additionally, the median time a home stayed on the market increased by 17.8%, reaching 33 days.

Median Price

Historical Median Price for past 24 months

Top 10 California Cities with Investment Property Opportunities

See More Investment Properties in California

California Housing Supply

In September 2024, California had 99,650 homes for sale, representing a 24.6% increased compared to the previous year. The number of newly listed homes was 30,545 and up 8% year over year. The average months of supply is 2.7 months, up 8% year over year.

# of Homes for Sale

Historical # of Homes for Sale for past 24 months

Top Markets in California

Market

Mashmeter Score

Optimal Strategy

Median Price

Alameda, Cathedral City, CA

A+

Short-term

455,000

Columbia, CA

A

Short-term

674,000

Chester, CA

A

Short-term

395,000

Lone Pine, CA

A

Short-term

350,000

Loleta, CA

A

Short-term

625,000

Check California Top Markets Full Analysis

Top Neighborhoods in California

Hidden Valley
Santa Barbara, CA
87%
Mashmeter
property price
$7,950,000
Median
cap rate
0.64%
Traditional
1.02%
Airbnb
rental income
$4,251
Traditional
$6,735
Airbnb
homes for sale
0
occupancy rate
66%
Airbnb
Petrolia
Petrolia, CA
86%
Mashmeter
property price
$1,162,500
Median
cap rate
0.00%
Traditional
3.41%
Airbnb
rental income
N/A
Traditional
$3,308
Airbnb
homes for sale
2
occupancy rate
62%
Airbnb
Columbia
Columbia, CA
80%
Mashmeter
property price
$624,000
Median
cap rate
0.00%
Traditional
5.33%
Airbnb
rental income
N/A
Traditional
$2,772
Airbnb
homes for sale
8
occupancy rate
61%
Airbnb
Chester
Chester, CA
78%
Mashmeter
property price
$499,000
Median
cap rate
0.00%
Traditional
9.11%
Airbnb
rental income
N/A
Traditional
$3,788
Airbnb
homes for sale
3
occupancy rate
44%
Airbnb
Mineral
Mineral, CA
78%
Mashmeter
property price
$290,000
Median
cap rate
0.00%
Traditional
14.59%
Airbnb
rental income
N/A
Traditional
$3,526
Airbnb
homes for sale
1
occupancy rate
66%
Airbnb

California short term regulations

Los Angeles, CA

Rating:

Negative

Legal for non-occupied:

No

Rule Summary:

An accessory use of a Host's Primary Residence for a maximum of 120 days in a calendar year for the purpose of providing Short-Term Rental in compliance with the registration and other requirements of Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 12.22 A 32.

Rented days limit:

120

San Diego, CA

Rating:

Restricted

Legal for non-occupied:

Yes, subject to a licensing lottery

Rule Summary:

Requires a license for all STRO of a dwelling unit, or part thereof, for less than one month within the City of San Diego; renting an entire property falls into tiers 3-4. The number of licenses issued will not exceed 1% of San Diego's total housing units outside the Mission Beach Community Planning Area, 30% in the Mission Beach Community. The licensing process is a subject to a lottery depending on a number of applications.

Rented days limit:

No limit

San Jose, CA

Rating:

Restricted

Legal for non-occupied:

Yes

Rule Summary:

If the host is present, short term rentals are allowed up to a maximum of 3 guests in single-family homes and only 2 guests in multifamily dwellings. There is no cap on the annual number of nights a host can book short term rentals if they are present. When the host is not present, annual bookings are capped at 180 days and the maximum number of guests is 2 per studio, 3 per one-bedroom unit, and 2 per bedroom for larger units, up to an absolute max of 10 guests regardless of number of bedrooms. Business Tax Certificates are required, contact https://www.sanjoseca.gov/

Rented days limit:

180

San Francisco, CA

Rating:

Restricted

Legal for non-occupied:

Yes

Rule Summary:

To be considered the permanent resident, you must spend at least 275 nights a year in the unit where you host short-term rentals. If you own/rent a multi-unit building, you may only register the specific residential unit in which you reside. You may only offer short-term rentals once you have obtained a Business Registration Certificate for your property from the San Francisco Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector, and then received a certificate from the Office of Short-Term Rentals. The certificate number must be posted on all listings advertising a short-term rental. "Unhosted rentals" occur when you are not present in your unit during your guests' stay. Registered hosts may only conduct unhosted short-term rentals for up to 90 nights per calendar year. This is in addition to the core rule that you may only host short-term rentals in the home where you also live at least 275 nights per year.

Rented days limit:

90 days of non-owner occupied

Sacramento, CA

Rating:

Restricted

Legal for non-occupied:

Yes

Rule Summary:

In order to have a secondary residence as a STR you need to apply for conditional use and limit the time it can be rented to 90 days.

Rented days limit:

90

See ALL California short term regulations

California Top Investment Properties Under Median Price

$529,000

property-listing

606 Bronte AVE, Watsonville , CA 95076

Pajaro

Single Family Residential

2 beds |
1 baths |
827 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
8%
Trad:
4.49%

$500,000

property-listing

2520 N Liberty Court, Visalia , CA 93292

Oval Park

Single Family Residential

4 beds |
2 baths |
2,076 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
8%
Trad:
5.62%

$275,000

property-listing

17075 Fort Tejon Road, Llano , CA 93544

Llano

Single Family Residential

2 beds |
1 baths |
960 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
7.99%
Trad:
7.84%

$487,500

property-listing

2621 Tokay Road, Phelan , CA 92371

Phelan

Single Family Residential

4 beds |
2 baths |
2,450 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
7.99%
Trad:
5.62%

Newly Listed Properties in California

$650,000

property-listing

841 E Silver Maple Drive, Azusa , CA 91702

Azusa

Condo/Coop

3 beds |
1 baths |
1,415 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
4.57%
Trad:
2.19%

$949,900

property-listing

26491 VIA LARA, Mission Viejo , CA 92691

Mission Viejo

Single Family Residential

2 beds |
2 baths |
1,212 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
2.39%
Trad:
2.4%

$2,295,000

property-listing

1912 Mill Road, South Pasadena , CA 91030

South Pasadena

Single Family Residential

3 beds |
1 baths |
1,964 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
1.54%
Trad:
0.37%

$1,050,000

property-listing

4 Vista Niguel #19, LAGUNA NIGUEL , CA 92677

LAGUNA NIGUEL

Townhouse

3 beds |
3 baths |
1,475 sq.ft
CAP RATE
Airbnb:
4.32%
Trad:
2.08%

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