Homes in Citrus Heights took noticeably longer to sell in March than they did a year ago, even with prices well below their 2025 peak. The typical home spent 20 days on the market before going under contract, up from just 11 days in March 2025 — an 82% jump that points to a meaningfully slower pace for sellers, despite still-tight supply.

Prices step back from last year’s highs

According to newly released Redfin data, the median sale price in Citrus Heights was $451,000 in March, down 10.7% from $505,000 a year earlier. That puts local prices roughly in line with where they stood in March 2024, when the median was $452,500 — effectively erasing the gains of the past two years. Over a longer horizon, prices remain about 6.1% above their March 2021 level of $425,000, a more modest five-year climb than many California markets have seen.

One nuance: while the headline price fell sharply, the median price per square foot edged up 0.6% year-over-year to $323. That suggests buyers in March were purchasing somewhat smaller homes than they did a year ago, softening what looks like a steep decline on the surface.

Compared to February, the median price ticked up 1.9% from $442,500, a typical pattern as the spring buying season gets underway.

More homes changing hands, but slower

Sales activity picked up from a year ago. A total of 68 homes sold in March, up 23.6% from 55 in March 2025, while new listings held essentially flat at 83 (versus 84 a year earlier). Active inventory rose 11% year-over-year to 121 homes.

That combination leaves Citrus Heights with about 1.8 months of supply — still firmly in sellers’ market territory, where 4 to 6 months is generally considered balanced. More than half of homes (52.9%) sold above their list price, and the typical sale closed at 100.4% of asking, both nearly identical to a year ago. About 45.6% of listings went off the market within two weeks.

But the longer time on market tells a more layered story. Even with limited supply, buyers appear to be taking more time to commit. The share of listings with price drops was 30.6%, down from 35.8% a year ago, suggesting sellers have adjusted asking prices earlier in the process rather than chasing the market down.

Month-over-month, days on market fell sharply from 40 in February to 20 in March — a halving that reflects normal spring acceleration rather than a fundamental shift.

Affordability and the rate picture

Lower prices and lower borrowing costs have meaningfully improved monthly affordability. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.18% in March, down from 6.65% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac data published by the Federal Reserve. Combined with the price drop, the principal-and-interest payment on a median-priced Citrus Heights home with 20% down works out to about $2,205 a month — $388 less than the equivalent payment a year ago.

Even so, affordability remains stretched. At a median household income of $82,314 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey), the median home costs roughly 5.5 times annual income, above the 5x threshold widely considered unaffordable. The estimated mortgage payment consumes about 32% of median household monthly income — within National Association of Realtors guidelines, but only just.

How Citrus Heights compares

The median sale price in Citrus Heights, a city of about 86,300, sits well below California’s statewide median of $855,300. But while statewide prices rose 0.7% year-over-year, local prices fell more than 10%, meaning Citrus Heights underperformed the broader state market on price even as its sales volume grew. Nationally, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index was essentially flat year-over-year in March, a backdrop that makes the local price decline stand out.

Citrus Heights homes also continued to move faster than the statewide median of 37 days on market, despite the local slowdown.

The bottom line

March data points to a Citrus Heights market that is busier than last year by sales count, but more patient. Homes are selling, often above asking and within tight inventory conditions, yet they’re taking nearly twice as long to do so — and at prices roughly 11% below where they stood last spring.