Although the traditionally busy spring buying season is still a couple of months away, some homebuyers in the region decided to beat the rush in February. In every one of our Bay Area markets, properties sat on the market fewer days than they did in the previous month.
And while this pattern didn’t hold true in our Tahoe/Truckee region, the median sales price for both single-family homes and condominiums there increased by double-digit percentages month over month in February. Single-family homes in San Francisco also showed healthy monthly price appreciation, and prices in all regions were up from levels recorded in February 2013.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at real estate activity in February.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Home prices in Contra Costa County rose less than 1 percentage point from January, but the median price of $753,500 is 25.5 percent higher than it was at the end of the previous February.
After five consecutive months of sellers receiving slightly below list price, the sales-price-to-original-price ratio climbed back to 100 percent. The months’ supply of inventory (MSI) also expanded slightly, up from 1.7 in January to 1.8 in February.
Homes left the market in an average of 30 days, 5 days shorter than in January and identical to what we saw in February 2013.
Defining Contra Costa County: Our real estate markets in Contra Costa County include the cities of Alamo, Blackhawk, Concord, Danville, Diablo, Lafayette, Martinez, 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 median sales price for an East Bay home was $725,000 in February, a month-over-month gain of 3 percent. As has been the case for the past year, sellers continued to enjoy premiums, this time netting an average of 6 percent above asking price.
The MSI in the East Bay was up to 1.9, the highest it has been since last fall. Buyers took an average of 27 days to close the purchase of a home, the same amount of time as one year earlier.
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; Albany; Berkeley; El Cerrito; Kensington; and Piedmont. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
MARIN COUNTY
The median sales price approached the $1 million milestone in Marin County, finishing February at $995,000. Marin prices surpassed the $1 million mark only once in 2013.
Homes stayed on the market an average of 74 days, 10 days fewer than in January but still longer than last spring and summer. The MSI shrunk slightly from the previous month to 2.2.
Sellers in Marin County took home an average of 98 percent of original price, the most since October.
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 home prices tumbled 12 percent month over month in February, but the $470,000 median is still up 9 percent on a yearly basis.
The average home stayed on the market 106 days, three weeks less than in January but the second longest in the past 12 months. The MSI grew modestly from the previous month to 3.7. Napa County currently has the largest supply of inventory in any of our Bay Area regions but still leans in favor of sellers.
Buyers paid 91.5 percent of list price, just a bit more than they did the month before.
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
With a February median sales price of $1.075 million, single-family homes in San Francisco were more expensive than they had been at any point during the previous year. Home prices in the city have now increased more than 34 percent since February 2013.
Since December, buyers have steadily been quicker to purchase homes, and in February the average San Francisco shopper closed on a sale in 37 days. After reaching 1.9 in the first month of 2014, the MSI fell again in February to 1.6.
Sellers enjoyed sales-price premiums of nearly 8 percent, the largest since September.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
Condominium prices reached one-year peaks in San Francisco in January, and February’s median price of $945,000 was just a 
tiny decrease. Since February 2013, condo prices in the city have risen 15.5 percent.
Buyers paid an average of almost 106 percent of list price in February, the highest amount observed since midsummer.
The MSI took a month-over-month dip to 1.7, and condos took an average of 40 days to sell, a week faster than in January.
SILICON VALLEY
The median sales price for a home in our Silicon Valley region was $2.33 million, a small decline from January but the second highest in the past year. Sellers raked in 4.5 percent above asking price, the highest premiums achieved in the past year.
The MSI expanded by a hair, to 2.4, but the most dramatic movement in Silicon Valley was seen in average days on market. Homes sold in an average of 28 days in February, 96 percent faster than in January, when they took nearly two months to leave the market.
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 Alpine Road area and 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.
SONOMA COUNTY
Prices in Sonoma County have been steadily easing since December, but February’s median price of $449,500 is still up about 18 percent year over year.
The MSI compressed from January to 2.2, and homes stayed on the market an average of 72 days. Buyers paid nearly 96 percent of original prices, nearly identical to levels recorded in the fall.
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 sales price for a property in our Sonoma Valley region inched up by a fraction of a percentage point from January to February, to $611,000, a year-over-year gain of 23 percent. Buyers took an average of 77 days to make a purchase, just a few days less than in January.
The MSI increased from 2.1 in January to 2.4 in February. Sellers received 92 percent of asking prices, essentially unchanged from the preceding month.
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 median price for a single-family home in our Tahoe/Truckee region grew 15.5 percent month over month, to finish February at $699,000. Prices for a single-family home have spiked more than 38 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Unlike in the Bay Area, homes in the region stayed on the market longer than they did last month, an average of 100 days. The MSI dropped substantially to 5.5 and is now roughly at levels observed in December.
Single-family homebuyers paid about 91 percent of original price, not wildly different from what they did throughout 2013.
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
The median sales price for a Tahoe/Truckee condo recovered greatly from January to February, growing from $262,000 to $404,000 – an impressive 54 percent jump.
The 13.0 MSI also spiked healthily from January and is now at its second highest level of the past year. Condos in the region took an average of 121 days to leave the market, a full month faster than in January.
Sellers took home 96 percent of asking price, the largest premiums received in the previous 12 months.
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.