The median home sales price was up in almost every one of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions year over year in August, as well as in the Tahoe/Truckee area. The sole exception was our Mid-Peninsula subregion, where prices inched down from August 2013. Still, at $1.3 million, the median price for a Mid-Peninsula single-family home is the second highest of any of the regions in which our firm operates.
The Wine Country saw the number of homes on the market expand from July to August, most notably in Napa County, where the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) rose to a yearly high. Elsewhere, inventory remained constrained and either dropped or held static from the preceding month.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at real estate activity in August.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The median single-family home price in our Contra Costa County region has been steadily climbing all summer and reached a yearly high in August: $1,072,500. At 1.4, the MSI was unchanged from the previous month and tied a yearly low.
Homes left the market in 24 days, on average, consistent with levels observed in June and July. Sellers received 99 percent of original price, the first time since January that they haven’t enjoyed slight premiums.
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
The East Bay remains a challenging market for buyers, with the MSI registering 0.9 for the second straight month. Because of the slim supply of available homes, buyers continued to pay almost 10 percent above list price, in line with what we’ve observed this summer.
At $835,000, the median sales price increased from July but fell just short of its yearly peak. Homes sold in an average of 23 days, just a bit slower than in the previous four months.
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
For the first time in six months, the median sales price in Marin County dipped below $1 million, to finish August at $950,000. Buyers have been getting increasingly larger discounts each month since the spring, and in August they paid an average of 97 percent of original price.
At 1.7, the MSI was identical to levels recorded in July. Homes also sold in the same amount of time as in the previous month: 51 days.
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
Napa County saw the MSI spike to 5.0 in August, the highest level of inventory recorded in the past year. Perhaps partially due to the increase in supply, the median sales price softened a bit from July, coming in at $529,500.
Sellers received 93.5 percent of asking price, about 5 percent more than they did the previous month. Homes left the market in an average of 73 days, about a week faster than in July.
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
After hovering around $1.1 million since the spring, the median price for a San Francisco single-family home dipped to $982,000 in August. Even so, the average buyer in the city still forked over about 10 percent more than asking price, just as they did in June and July.
Homes sold in an average of 29 days, in line with the pace of sales seen in the past few months. At 1.4, the MSI remained unchanged from July.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
Having gradually increased each month since April, the MSI for condominiums in San Francisco dropped in August, landing at 1.3. At $963,000, the median sales price was up a few thousand dollars from July.
Just as in the previous month, San Francisco condominiums sold in an average of 33 days. Sellers took in about 5 more than original price, the smallest premium since February.
SILICON VALLEY
Homes in Pacific Union’s Silicon Valley region continue to command the highest prices of any our regions, with the median clocking in at $2.4 million for the past five months. Still, buyers are getting a small break on another front: In August they paid an average of 1 percent more than original price, compared with 5 percent earlier in the spring.
The average days on market in Silicon Valley has increased each month since May, and homes took an average of 37 days to sell in August. At 1.3, the MSI dipped just a bit from the preceding month.
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
After topping out in May, the median sales price in our Mid-Peninsula subregion has been gradually slowing down and finished August at $1.3 million. At 1.1, the MSI was down from the previous month and matched its 2014 low.
Homes sold in an average of 27 days, about a week faster than in July. Sellers took home about 1 percent more than original price, nearly identical to the previous month’s premiums.
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
After breaking the half-million dollar mark in July, the median sales price for a property in our Sonoma County region fell to $470,000 in August. At 2.2, the MSI was up a touch from the previous month but didn’t vary greatly from what we’ve observed in the rest of 2014.
As in July, properties took an average of about two months to leave the market. Buyers paid nearly 98 percent of asking price, a bit more than they did the preceding month.
Defining Sonoma County: Our real estate markets in Sonoma County include the cities of 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 Sonoma Valley property price rocketed up more than 30 percent from June to July, and from July to August it declined by about the same amount, falling to $525,000.
After reaching a yearly low in July, the MSI expanded to 2.6 in August. Properties sold in an average of 56 days, about three weeks longer than in the preceding month. Sellers received 97.5 percent of original price, slightly more than in July.
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.
TAHOE/TRUCKEE – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The MSI for single-family homes in our Tahoe/Truckee region plummeted from 10.4 in July to 6.9 in August, as buyers began searching for properties well in advance of the upcoming ski season. The median sales price in the region has seen substantial gains over the past few months and closed out August at $665,000.
The length of time a Tahoe/Truckee single-family home takes to sell has been dropping each month since March, and in August houses left the market in 54 days, a yearly low. Sellers got 95 percent of asking prices, in line with figures recorded since spring.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in Tahoe/Truckee 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.
TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS
After reaching a yearly peak in July, the median sales price for condominiums in our Tahoe/Truckee region settled back down to $345,000 in August, with buyers paying 96 percent of original price.
The MSI for condominiums in the region has been declining throughout the summer and reached 6.8 in August. Condominiums sold in an average of 51 days, the quickest we’ve seen in the past year.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in Tahoe/Truckee 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.