Here are some of the highlights from the CAR December Report:

• Home price appreciations started picking up in second half of 2017

• Price per square foot was $265 which is down 4.3% from November, but up 6.4% YTY

• Sales price-to-list is up over the same period last year

• Inventory is at the lowest level since June 2004

• Supply remains on a downward trend with constraints across all price ranges

• Inventory index is at the highest levels for the $3M+ homes

• Inventory continues to drop across all regions

California real estate sales transactions for December ended with a slight increase. December sales were 420,960 units, which represents a slight gain of +1.4% YTD and a +1.4% increase over the same period last year. California home sales showed a slight recovery even though Bay Area sales were virtually unchanged and Southern California home sales were down. Central Valley Sales were also down, but that was due primarily to time of year for that region. The share of homes sold in all price brackets in December 2017 were in line with December 2016. Sales improved in mid and high-priced markets, but continued to decline in lower priced segments. California median home prices continue to grow at a fast pace with December 2017 median price at $549,560, which increased +0.5% over last month and is an increase of +7.6% over the same period last year.