Bay Area homes were even tougher to come by in August than they were at the end of last summer, as the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) fell year over year in every Pacific Union region but Lake Tahoe/Truckee. Conditions remained exceptionally tight in the East Bay, where the MSI stayed below 1.0 for the entire summer and caused properties to sell for substantially more than list prices.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in August.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Market conditions in our Contra Costa County region look remarkably similar to those in August 2014. At $1,058,500, the median sales price is less than $2,000 shy of last August’s number. Buyers paid 99.2 percent of original price and homes sold in 23 days, both metrics also nearly identical to levels recorded one year earlier.
At 1.3, the MSI is down a bit from one year ago and unchanged from the previous two months.
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
Extremely limited inventory has characterized the East Bay market all summer, with the MSI holding steady at 0.8 from June through August. Homes sold for 113.1 percent of original price, down from the past few months but the largest premiums recorded in any of Pacific Union’s regions.
After five months above the $900,000 mark, the median sales price eased to $853,500. Homes sold in an average of 22 days, five days faster than earlier in the summer.
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 just under $1.1 million, the Marin County median sales price continued its seven-digit run for the sixth consecutive month. On average, buyers paid 98.1 percent of original price, less than they did in June and July.
Homes left the market in an average of 50 days — identical to August 2014 — while the MSI closed the month at 1.5.
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
Home prices in Napa County cooled from July to August, with the median dropping to $571,316 — still up 12 percent on an annual basis. At the same time, the MSI took a sizable jump from July, moving up to 3.3.
Napa County properties sold in 60 days, the fastest pace observed in the past year. Sellers received 96.4 percent of original price, very similar to June and July totals.
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 a single-family home in San Francisco has been inching down since May and finished the summer at $1,225,888. For the past year, sellers in the city have been enjoying premiums, and that trend continued, with the average home selling for 111 percent of asking price.
Homes were on the market for 29 days in August, keeping pace with the market’s speed over the past two months, while the MSI remained unchanged from July at 1.3.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
As is true for their single-family counterparts, San Francisco condominium sellers have been in the driver’s seat for the past year, and in August properties sold for 108.2 percent of original price. At $1,050,000, condos in the city have been in the seven-digit range since February.
The MSI closed August at 1.3, virtually unchanged from the preceding five months. Homes left the market in 27 days, in line with numbers recorded earlier in the summer.
SILICON VALLEY
Home prices in our Silicon Valley region stabilized over the summer; August’s $2.75 million median was an increase of only $50,000 from June and July. At 1.3, the MSI was virtually unchanged from earlier in the summer.
On average, sellers got 104.4 percent of asking price, and homes sold in a brisk 23 days.
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
Although the $1,502,000 median sales price in Pacific Union’s Mid-Peninsula subregion was down from the preceding month, it was up 13 percent from August 2014. The average home sold for 105.4 percent of asking price, almost identical to July’s numbers.
The MSI has been creeping up slowly since June but is still extremely low: 1.1. Properties left the market in 26 days, a week faster than they did at the same time last year.
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
Sonoma County is another market that appears to show stabilizing prices: the median hasn’t varied month to month by more than $4,000 since May and closed August at $549,000. The MSI increased from June and July to 2.0, though there are still fewer available homes than there were one year ago.
The average home sold in 60 days — one day faster than August 2014 — and for 95 percent of asking price.
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
After popping above $700,000 in July, the median sales price in our Sonoma Valley region relaxed to $651,000 in August. The MSI dropped to 2.0, tying its 2015 low.
The average home sold in 60 days, not too far off last August’s sales pace, and buyers paid 98.9 percent of original price.
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 is on its way back up, climbing to $594,139 in August. Inventory was up on both a monthly and yearly basis, with the MSI rising to 7.8.
Homes sold in 81 days, identical to July’s sales pace, and for 90.6 percent of asking price.
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 in Lake Tahoe/Truckee rocketed up from the previous month to $424,000 in August, a one-year high. Condos also sold much faster than they did in July — an average of 56 days.
The MSI dropped off a bit from early in the summer, but at 8.3, supply remains plentiful. Condos sold for 95.7 percent of original price, in line with what we saw in June and July.
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.