Demand for Northern California real estate remained heavy in April, with the median home sales price reaching yearly highs in the majority of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions. And buyers weren’t wasting any time, particularly in Contra Costa County, the East Bay, Silicon Valley, and the Mid-Peninsula, where homes sold in three weeks or less.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in April.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The median sales price in Pacific Union’s Contra Costa County region rose just a bit from the previous month to finish April at $1.1 million. Properties sold for an average of 2.5 percent above original price, the highest such premiums recorded in the past year.
The months’ supply of inventory (MSI) dipped for the second straight month, landing at 1.3. On average, homes sold in 19 days, nearly identical to the pace of sales one year ago.
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
Home prices in Pacific Union’s East Bay region moved closer to the $1 million mark in April, with the median sales price increasing to $946,500. Homes in the region appear to be more coveted than ever, with eager buyers paying an average of 16 percent more than original price in order to close a deal.
Properties sold in 16 days, the quickest pace in the past year, while the MSI fell to 0.9.
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
At 1.2, the MSI in Marin County reached a one-year low in April. Prices headed in the other direction, with the median sales price climbing to $1,203,625.
Homes sold in an average of 58 days, 12 days longer than in March. Buyers got a bit of a break, with the average property selling for about 96 percent of asking price.
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
April’s median sales price in Napa County ratcheted up to $635,000, a year-over-year gain of 24.5 percent. Sellers banked about 96 percent of the original price, similar to what we observed last spring and early summer.
Homes left the market in 96 days, five days longer than in March, while the MSI increased modestly to 3.1.
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 median sales price for single-family homes in San Francisco has risen every month thus far in 2015 and hit $1,350,500 in April. Overbids remained commonplace, with the average buyer paying about 13 percent above asking price to get the job done.
Homes sold in an average of 26 days, nearly identical to March’s pace, while the MSI dropped to 1.2.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
The median condominium price in San Francisco was down month over month in April, but at $1,097,500, it is up almost 20 percent from one year ago. Sellers enjoyed premiums of about 8 percent, in line with what we saw last spring.
At 1.1, the MSI was unchanged from the previous month. San Francisco condominiums took an average of 33 days to sell, two days longer than in March.
SILICON VALLEY
Silicon Valley was one of the few Pacific Union regions where home prices were not at their yearly peaks in April. But with the median sales price at $2,665,000, it remains the most expensive of our Northern California regions in which to purchase a home.
The MSI dipped to 1.2, matching its one-year low. Homes left the market in a brisk 19 days, and the average buyer paid a 6.5 percent premium.
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
As in neighboring Silicon Valley, homes didn’t linger on the market very long in the Mid-Peninsula, with properties selling in an average of 21 days. The MSI improved slightly from March, but at 1.0, the region’s housing supply remains low.
The median sales price climbed to $1,688,000 with the average buyer paying 7.5 percent more than original price to successfully close a transaction.
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
The median sales price in Sonoma County has been gaining steam every month in 2015 and closed out April at $541,000. The average seller took home almost 100 percent of the original price, the most in the past year.
Homes left the market in 55 days, more than a month faster than earlier in the year, and the MSI dropped to 1.6.
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
Sonoma Valley’s median sales price rocketed up to $757,500 in April, a month-over-month gain of 32 percent. Sellers received an average of 0.5 percent above the original price, the first time in the past year they’ve enjoyed any sort of premium.
Buyers took an average of 66 days to close a deal, two days longer than they did in March. The MSI in Sonoma Valley has been declining every month so far in 2015 and fell to 2.1 in April.
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
The median sales price for a single-family home in Pacific Union’s Lake Tahoe/Truckee region dropped to $542,500, not terribly different from what we saw in April 2014. The MSI expanded to 6.4, ensuring that homebuyers in the region have plenty of properties from which to choose.
Homes left the market in an average of 103 days, in line with the pace of sales one year ago. Sellers got an average of 92 percent of the asking price, a bit less than they did in March.
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
The median condominium price also dropped in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region from the previous month to finish April at $281,000. At 17.9, the MSI nearly doubled from March to reach a yearly high.
Condominiums in the region sold in an average of 100 days, with the average seller receiving about 94 percent of the asking price – unchanged from the preceding month.
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.