San Luis Obispo County home sales dipped in March as overall housing costs and supply grew slightly, buoyed by a handful of local communities that outperformed the rest.
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Compared to the previous year, the Central Coast real estate market deviated from statewide trends. Across California, home prices dropped in most cities in March and rent costs stagnated statewide.
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Meanwhile, according to a new study, home buyers skew older in SLO County than the rest of the Golden State.
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So where did real estate prices fall, and where can buyers and renters find some wiggle room?
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SLO County sees limited housing market growth
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Statewide, Californians felt the effects of a slowing housing market, according to the California Association of Realtors’ March 2023 Sales and Price Report.
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The median price of a home in California rose for the first time since October, ending March at $791,490 — up 7.6% from February and down 7% from March 2022.
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As California’s housing stock got tighter, the median number of days homes spent on the real estate market fell, bottoming out at 19 days in March, the lowest since August 2022.
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New listings also were also down 29.9% statewide compared to last year.
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CAR’s March 2023 Housing Market Overview painted a slightly brighter picture for San Luis Obispo County home buyers.
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The median home price in SLO County fell by 0.9% from the previous year to $895,000 in March, but the market stayed fiercely competitive despite the slight price drop.
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Homes only spent 14 days on the local real estate market in March. Although active listings countywide grew to 262 that month —outperforming March 2022 by 23.6% — sales also dropped 23.6% to 159.
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This suggests that, while more homes may be available, high prices may still be warding off buyers.
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Where did home prices increase in SLO County?
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Several locations across SLO County saw home costs fall compared to the previous year. Only Arroyo Grande, Nipomo and Atascadero’s housing markets saw median price increases.
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Nipomo saw the most significant growth in home price out of any San Luis Obispo County city, reaching $1.25 million in March, a massive 39% jump from the previous year.
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Those homes spent a median of 56 days on the market, as active listings fell 50% from March 2022 to 18. 11 of those homes were sold, falling 35.5% from the previous year.
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In Arroyo Grande, median prices grew by 1% from March 2022, reaching $1.18 million. The 25 active listings in March — which fell by 13.8% from March 2022 levels — spent a median of nine days on the market.
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Arroyo Grande recorded 20 home sales in March, identical to the same time period the previous year.
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Atascadero saw its median home price creep upwards by 10.8%, reaching $820,000 in March, as homes stayed on the market for a median of 13 days.
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The 18 active listings were a 10% decrease from 2022.
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Lastly, Grover Beach’s $716,000 median home price grew 8% from March 2022, but active listings and sales both fell by 33.3% and 9.1%, respectively.
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Grover Beach homes spent just 19 days on the market in March 2022.
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Where have housing costs decreased?
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Conversely, Templeton homes saw a precipitous 43.9% decline in median price from March 2022, landing at $846,000 in March.
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Homes there only spent a median of five days on the market, but only three of the 16 active listings were sold. Those three sales represented a 62.5% decline from the previous year.
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Despite falling 30.6% from March 2023, Pismo Beach’s median home price of $1.1 million still was one of the highest in SLO County in March.
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Homes spent a median of eight days on the market in Pismo Beach.
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The South County city had 16 active listings in March — 77.8% more than the previous year — and only six sales were reported, a 14.3% drop from March 2022.
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Morro Bay’s housing market similarly cooled, as homes in the coastal city spent a median of 90 days on the market despite a 19.4% median price drop to $800,000.
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Fourteen homes were available to buyers, a 16.7% increase from the previous year.
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However, only five homes sold, a 50% decline from March 2022.
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Meanwhile, Cambria’s median home price dropped 9.9% to $1.16 million in March. Homes there spent a median of 19 days on the market before selling.
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As in March 2022, 11 homes were sold this March.
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However, more homes were available this time around. There were 19 active listings, an increase of 72.7% from March 2022.
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Just to the south, Los Osos’ median home price fell 2.7% from March 2022 to $796,000, as all 10 active listings were sold in March.
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However, those listings spent a median of 43 days on the market.
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With a median home price of $721,000, Paso Robles had the cheapest real estate listings in the county, thanks to a 3.8% price drop from the previous year.
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There were 52 active listings in the North County city in March, representing a 33.3% uptick in available homes over March 2022.
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However, sales dropped by 49.1% to 27 in March.
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Those homes spent a median of 16 days on the market.
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Lastly, San Luis Obispo’s market stayed as competitive as ever. Homes there only stayed on the market for a week before selling.
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The city had 28 active listings in March, a 75% increase from the previous year, and 21 homes were sold, falling just 4.5% from March 2022.
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What about rent costs?
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Renters got some relief nationally, as a Rent.com study showed rent costs fell slightly from February to March.
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According to the report, March ended with a national median rent of $1,937, which was down 0.4% from March 2022, and represented a slight 0.01% decline from February 2023.
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However, 81.4% of all markets in the United States experienced increases in rent compared to the previous year, and 58.14% of all markets saw rent increases between February and March, the study found.
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In California, the outlook was similar for renters.
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By the end of March, Rent.com data showed California’s median rent settled at $2,980, which was 0.74% higher than the previous year and 0.41% higher than the previous month.
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Report: SLO-Paso Robles metro area has older home buyers
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The San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area is home to some of the oldest home buyers in the United States, according to a new study by Construction Coverage.
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Of the 356 metro areas surveyed for the study, the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area ranked 27th in terms of the percentage of home buyers over the age of 55.
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Approximately 32.7% of local home buyers fell into that age range.
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In addition, 14.3% of home buyers in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area were over 65, the study found, meaning that the area ranked 29th out of all metro areas for that age category.
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Buyers over age 75 made up 2.7% of the local housing market, earning the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area 36th place in that age category.
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No other metro area in California had a higher percentage of buyers over the ages of 55 or 65, the study found.
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Only the Redding and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara had higher percentages of home buyers over 75, with 3.2% and 3% of shoppers falling into that age range, respectively.
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According to the Construction Coverage report, home purchases by seniors are on the decline.
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U.S. residents over 55 owned 57% of household real estate wealth as of the end of 2022, but are staying put more often, the report said.
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“Older Americans’ decisions to stay out of the real estate market and age in place stand in stark contrast to younger generations, who represent a much larger share of homebuyers,” the report read. “Where younger people may look to buy a home to be closer to job opportunities or start a family, older people often have less urgency to move as they reach the end of their careers or their children grow up.”
John Lynch is a housing reporter at the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, John studied journalism and telecommunications at Ball State University, graduating in 2022.