The number of home sales across California have markedly declined, with the Central Valley reporting the largest drop.

In the Central Valley, home sales decreased by 9.4% this past June compared to a year earlier, the largest decrease in the state, the California Association of Realtors reports.

The second biggest drop, 8.8%, occurred in the Bay Area, followed by an 8.4% drop in the Los Angeles metro area over the same period.

For June of this year, existing home sales across the state fell to 389,690 single-family homes, below the CAR’s benchmark of 400,000.

Month-over-month, the seasonally-adjusted number for June represents a 4.2% decline from May and a 5.1% decline from June 2018.

For 10 of the past 11 months, CAR reports that home sales have numbered below 400,000, though the month of May was an exception.

“With softer price growth and interest rates at the lowest levels in nearly three years, monthly mortgage payments on a median-priced home have fallen for four straight months. This allows homebuyers to save hundreds of dollars a month on the same home or to potentially consider a slightly more expensive home for the same monthly cost,” CAR’s president and Fresno Realtor Jared Martin said in a written statement. “Combined with the long-term benefits of homeownership on personal wealth and quality of life, 2019 is a good time to purchase a home for the long haul.”

Single-family home prices in California also remained nearly unchanged month-over-month, with a median price of $611,420 in June of this year, compared to $611,190 in May. This is a 1.4% increase from $602,770 from June 2018.

Fresno County experienced in June a .7% decrease compared to May in the median price of a home, $283,000. This marks a 2.7% increase from June 2018. Total number of homes sold county-wide decreased .4% from May and 10.2% from June 2018.

Kings County median home price decreased in June 4.9% to $247,150 from May, up .9% from June 2018. Total home sales jumped 3.5% in June from May and 21.9% from June 2018.

Madera County June home prices increased to $291,250 from May, a 7.9% increase and a 8.7% increase from June 2018. There were 8.7% fewer home sales in June from May and 1.7% more from June 2018.

Tulare County homes sold for .2% less from May to $247,500. This is 5.5% less from June 2018. June total home sales also fell 3.4% from May and 2.3% from June 2018.

Home sale numbers for the individual counties were not included in the report.