Davis homebuyers in March paid roughly $132,000 less for the typical home than they did a year earlier, according to newly released data from Redfin. The median sale price fell to $685,000, down 16.2% from $817,450 in March 2025 — one of the sharpest year-over-year declines the university town has recorded in recent years, and a notable departure from the broader California market, where the statewide median edged up 0.7% over the same period.

Prices reset, but buyers are moving faster

The price drop in Davis, a city of about 65,000 residents, was not driven by a slow market. Quite the opposite: homes sold in a median of just 8 days in March, compared with 20 days a year earlier — meaning the typical listing went under contract nearly two weeks faster than last spring. The share of homes selling above list price climbed to 41.9%, up from 30.8% a year ago, and 55% of new listings went off market within two weeks. The sale-to-list ratio of 99.6% indicates the average buyer paid nearly the full asking price.

That combination — falling prices alongside faster sales and more bidding activity — suggests sellers entered the spring market with more realistic pricing after a softer 2025. Median price per square foot also fell, to $453 from $524, a 13.6% year-over-year decline, indicating the price drop reflects broader value resets rather than a shift toward smaller homes.

Sales volume rose as well. Thirty-one homes changed hands in March, up 19.2% from the 26 sold a year earlier and an 82.3% jump from February’s 17 sales — though much of that month-over-month gain reflects the typical seasonal pickup heading into spring. New listings totaled 70, up from 60 in March 2025, and active inventory grew to 97 homes, a 16.9% year-over-year increase.

A more balanced market

With 97 active listings and 31 sales in March, Davis had roughly 3.1 months of supply — a level generally considered balanced, where neither buyers nor sellers hold dominant leverage. That marks a meaningful shift from the tight conditions of two years ago, when March 2024 inventory stood at just 39 homes and the median price was $815,000. Five years ago, in March 2021, the median was $721,000, meaning Davis prices today sit about 5% below their early-pandemic level.

Roughly 30% of active listings had a price drop in March, essentially unchanged from 31.3% a year earlier, a sign that pricing pressure remains even as sales activity has accelerated.

Mortgage rates and affordability

Lower rates have softened the blow for buyers. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.18% in March, down from 6.65% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. Combined with the lower median price, the monthly principal-and-interest payment on a median-priced Davis home with 20% down works out to about $3,349 — roughly $849 less per month than the $4,198 a buyer would have faced a year ago.

Even with that relief, affordability remains stretched. The median Davis household earns $90,045, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, putting the typical home at 7.6 times median household income — well above the 5x threshold widely considered unaffordable. The estimated mortgage payment alone consumes about 44.6% of median monthly income, exceeding the 43% ceiling used by the National Association of Realtors as a benchmark for affordable housing costs.

How Davis compares

Davis is now selling at a discount to the state. California’s statewide median reached $855,300 in March, while Davis came in at $685,000. On a price-per-square-foot basis, Davis ($453) also trails the statewide figure of $519. Davis homes, however, are moving far faster than the state average — 8 days on market versus 37 statewide — reflecting steady demand in the university-anchored market even as prices have come down.

Nationally, home prices were essentially flat year-over-year, with the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index slightly lower than a year earlier. That makes the 16.2% Davis decline a clear local divergence rather than a reflection of national conditions.