The pace of residential real estate sales picked up throughout most of Pacific Union’s Northern California regions in February, with homes selling in fewer days than in the previous month in every market except for Napa County and Lake Tahoe/Truckee.
Median sales price trends varied by region, but prices for condominiums in San Francisco hit a one-year high. Single-family home prices decreased a hair from January in our Silicon Valley region, but they remained near the $3 million mark.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in February.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The median sales price in Pacific Union’s Contra Costa County region climbed back above the $1 million mark in February. Buyers paid about 99 percent of original price, similar to levels recorded for the past six months.
Buyers took an average of 30 days to close a deal, 10 days quicker than in January and identical to February 2014. The months’ supply of inventory (MSI) climbed to 2.0, still heavily in favor of sellers but the highest in a year.
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include single-family homes in these communities.
EAST BAY
In our East Bay region, February’s median sales price was just shy of $850,000, the highest in at least two years. The MSI expanded to 1.9 and is at a similar level as it was one year ago.
Homes sold in an average of 23 days, two weeks faster than they did in January. East Bay homebuyers continue to pay more than asking price to finalize a purchase – an average of 111 percent in February.
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include single-family homes in these communities.
MARIN COUNTY
The median sales price in Marin County has relaxed a bit each month since November and closed February at $980,000. The MSI followed suit, dropping to 2.1.
Homes sold in an average of 57 days, five days faster than in the preceding month. Sellers received about 99 percent of original price, the most since May 2014.
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include single-family homes in these communities.
NAPA COUNTY
Napa County was the only one of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions in which homes sold at a slower clip in February – 105 days – than they did in January, though not by much. After reaching a more balanced state last fall, the Napa County market appears slightly skewed toward sellers thus far in 2015, with the MSI falling to 3.2 in February.
The median sales price climbed to $530,000, and buyers paid about 92 percent of original price.
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include all single-family homes in Napa County.
SAN FRANCISCO – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
As has been the case for most of the past year, single-family homebuyers in San Francisco paid in excess of $1 million in February — $1,133,000 to be exact. Successful buyers forked over an average of about 12 percent more than original price, the highest premiums in any of Pacific Union’s regions.
At 1.9, the MSI was unchanged from January. Single-family homes in the city left the market in 30 days, in line with the general pace throughout most of 2014.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
At $1.1 million, the median sales price for a San Francisco condominium climbed to a yearly high. Sellers reeled in an average of 7 percent above original price, the most since last summer.
Properties sold in an average of 28 days, roughly twice as fast as in December and January. The MSI tightened a bit from the previous month to finish February at 1.8.
SILICON VALLEY
With February’s median sales price at $2.8 million, homes in our Silicon Valley region are selling for about 21 percent more than they were a year ago. And while the region saw a supply spike last February, that didn’t happen this year, and the MSI fell to 1.7. 
Buyers took an average of 26 days to close a transaction — two weeks quicker than they did in January — and paid about 6 percent more than original price to make it happen.
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include all single-family homes in these communities.
Mid-Peninsula Subregion
At $1.53 million, the median sales price for a home in Pacific Union’s Mid-Peninsula subregion was down from January but up about 18 percent from a year ago. Successful buyers paid nearly 3 percent more than original price, an uptick from the previous month.
Homes left the market in an average of 32 days, identical to numbers recorded in February 2014, while the MSI declined to 1.8
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include all single-family homes in these communities.
SONOMA COUNTY
Sonoma County’s housing supply remains constrained; February’s MSI dropped slightly to 2.1 but is in line with what we’ve seen for most of the previous year. Buyers took an average of 88 days to close a purchase, one day less than in January.
At $492,000, the Sonoma County median sales price was up on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. Buyers paid an average of 95 percent of original price, almost identical to what they did in January.
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 statistics in the adjoining chart include all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.
SONOMA VALLEY
After spiking in November, the median sales price in our Sonoma Valley region has been dropping each month and finished February at $540,000. Even so, sellers have been taking in an increasingly larger percentage of asking price for the past few months and got an average of 96 percent in February.
Properties sold in an average of 76 days, nearly the same rate as a year ago, while the MSI decreased to 2.7.
Defining Sonoma Valley: Our real estate markets in Sonoma Valley include the cities of Glen Ellen, Kenwood, and Sonoma. Sales statistics in the adjoining chart refer to all residential properties – including single-family homes, condominiums, and farms and ranches – in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The median sales price for a single-family home in Pacific Union’s Lake Tahoe/Truckee region was $595,000 in February, down on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. Buyers paid an average of 88 percent of asking price, nearly identical to numbers recorded in January.
Housing supply in the region is expanding as spring draws closer, with the MSI rising to 7.7 in February. The market’s velocity is also decelerating, with homes selling in an average of 147 days, the slowest pace in more than a year.
Defining Lake 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 statistics in the adjoining chart include single-family homes in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS
The median sales price for a condominium in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area rebounded in February to $359,500, a month-over-month uptick of 24 percent. Buyers paid nearly 91 percent of original price, a little less than in January.
Condominiums in the region sold in an average of 138 days, and supply is plentiful, with the MSI closing out February at 10.7.
Defining Lake 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 statistics in the adjoining chart include condominiums in these communities.