March 8, 2016 • Posted in Pacific Union Monthly Real Estate Updates
For the most part, the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) was up from January to February across Pacific Union’s Bay Area markets, with two exceptions: San Francisco condominiums and Lake Tahoe/Truckee single-family homes. Properties also mostly sold faster than they did in January, particularly in the Mid-Peninsula, while single-family home prices reached a one-year high in San Francisco and the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in February.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Contra Costa County posted a median sales price of $1.05 million in February, in the same general range as it has been for most of the past year. The MSI improved to 2.1, the highest level since February 2015.
Homes sold in an average of 35 days — eight days faster than in January — and sellers took in 99.5 percent of original prices.
Defining Contra Costa County: Our real estate markets in Contra Costa County include the cities of Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
EAST BAY
After staying on the market 41 days in January, home sales returned to their typical brisk pace in the East Bay, with the average property finding a buyer in 23 days in February. At 1.6, the MSI improved from the previous month but was down from levels recorded a year earlier.
The median home sales price was $875,000, nearly identical to December and January. East Bay sellers remained firmly in the driver’s seat, with the average home fetching 112.7 percent of its list price.
Defining the East Bay: Our real estate markets in the East Bay region include Oakland ZIP codes 94602, 94609, 94610, 94611, 94618, 94619, and 94705; Alameda; Albany; Berkeley; El Cerrito; Kensington; and Piedmont. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
MARIN COUNTY
Marin County was one market where the pace of sales decreased from the previous month, with homes selling in an average of 80 days, by far the slowest sales pace in a year. After dipping below $1 million in January, the median sales price rebounded to $1.15 million.
The MSI increased slightly to 2.2, and buyers paid 95.8 percent of original prices.
Defining Marin County: Our real estate markets in Marin County include the cities of Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, and Tiburon. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
NAPA COUNTY
As in Marin, Napa County home sales slowed in February to an average of 113 days on the market, the most since February 2015. The median sales price increased to $650,000, up 32 percent year over year.
The MSI expanded to 3.9, the highest since October, and buyers paid 89.1 percent of original prices.
Defining Napa County: Our real estate markets in Napa County include the cities of American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Napa, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in Napa County.
SAN FRANCISCO – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The MSI for single-family homes in San Francisco reached a one-year high in February, climbing to 2.8. The median sales price also hit a one-year peak of $1.42 million.
Homes found buyers in an average of 31 days, identical to levels recorded in February 2015. Sellers enjoyed bigger premiums than they did in January, netting 108.4 percent of list prices.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
The median sales price for a San Francisco condominium has been in the same ballpark for most of the past year, and February’s $1.1 million price continued that pattern. Condominiums in the city still fetched more than their original prices: 105.1 percent.
Properties sold in an average of 35 days, while the MSI fell slightly from January to end the month at 2.5.
SILICON VALLEY
Although Silicon Valley remains our most expensive place to purchase a home, with a February median price of $2,675,000, prices have actually relaxed a bit from a year ago. The MSI expanded to 3.0, a one-year high.
The pace of sales quickened from January, dropping to 30 days. The average seller received 102.5 percent of the list price, the first time since October in which homes in the region have sold for premiums.
Defining Silicon Valley: Our real estate markets in the Silicon Valley region include the cities and towns of Atherton, Los Altos (excluding county area), Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park (excluding east of U.S. 101), Palo Alto, Portola Valley, and Woodside. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
Mid-Peninsula Subregion
The market moved exceptionally fast in our Mid-Peninsula subregion in February, with homes selling in an average of 16 days. The median sales price was $1,674,000, up on both a monthly and yearly basis.
The MSI increased to 2.8 — an annual high — and properties sold for 106.7 percent of asking prices, the most since last summer.
Defining the Mid-Peninsula: Our real estate markets in the Mid-Peninsula subregion include the cities of Burlingame (excluding Ingold Millsdale Industrial Center), Hillsborough, and San Mateo (excluding the North Shoreview/Dore Cavanaugh area). Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
SONOMA COUNTY
Home prices in Sonoma County have been pretty consistent since last spring, and that held true in February, with the median pegged at $542,000. Buyers paid 96.8 percent of original prices, the highest percentage since the fall.
Properties sold in an average of 78 days, two days faster than in January, and the MSI expanded slightly to 2.2.
Defining Sonoma County: Our real estate markets in Sonoma County include the cities of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Windsor. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.
SONOMA VALLEY
The median sales price in our Sonoma Valley region was $633,000 in February, down from January but up 17 percent on an annual basis. The MSI improved to 3.2, the highest level recorded since September.
Homes sold in an average of 71 days, 16 days quicker than in January, and buyers paid 98 percent of list prices.
Defining Sonoma Valley: Our real estate markets in Sonoma Valley include the cities of Glen Ellen, Kenwood, and Sonoma. Sales data in the adjoining chart refers to all residential properties – including single-family homes, condominiums, and farms and ranches – in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
Snow has returned in abundance to the Sierras, and with it, the median sales price for a single-family home in the Lake Tahoe/Truckeeregion climbed to $735,000 in February, a one-year high. The number of homes for sale dropped from January, with the MSI at 5.5.
Single-family homes in the region sold in an average of 130 days, and buyers paid 91.4 percent of original prices.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS
At $361,900, the median sales price for a Lake Tahoe/Truckee condominium was up on both an annual and monthly basis in February. At 11.3, the MSI was unchanged from January and consistent with levels recorded over the past few months.
Condominiums found buyers in 92 days, the quickest sales pace since the late summer. Beginning in September, buyers have gradually paid a higher percentage of asking prices every month, and that number climbed to 96.1 in February.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes condominiums in these communities.