Northern California got a welcome but modest housing-supply boost as 2015 began, with the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) rising from December in every one of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions and the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region.
The median home sales price dipped slightly month over month in most regions with several notable exceptions. In Silicon Valley, the median sales price climbed to nearly $3 million, and in the Mid-Peninsula, it hit a 12-month high of almost $1.7 million. Prices for single-family homes in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region also rebounded in January, moving back up above $650,000.
Click on the charts accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in January.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The median sales price in our Contra Costa County region decreased by a smidgen from December to close January at $975,000, but it is still up by more than 10 percent on an annual basis. On average, homes sold for about 97 percent of original price, nearly identical to levels observed one year ago.
The MSI in the region expanded a bit to 1.6, and homes took an average of 40 days to sell, similar to last January’s pace.
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
At $803,000, the January median sales price in our East Bay region was down from the preceding month but still 12.5 percent higher than it was at the same time last year. As has been the case for much of the past two years, the average East Bay buyer paid a premium to secure a home – about 4 percent – but overbidding activity was not as intense as it was last fall.
After bottoming out in December, the MSI increased to 1.7 in January. Homes took an average of 35 days to leave the market, a yearly high and in line with what we saw last January.
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
The median sales price in Marin County has been cooling ever so slightly for the past few months but remained very close to $1 million as 2015 kicked off. Sellers took in 98 percent of asking price, about 4 percent more than in the previous month.
Homes sold in an average of 63 days, and although the MSI rose from December to 2.2, there were fewer available homes than there were last January.
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’s median sales price dipped slightly from December to close January just a few hundred dollars shy of $500,000. Buyers paid 91 percent of original price, almost identical to numbers recorded in the final month of 2014.
The MSI rose to 3.4, but housing supply is lower than it was one year ago. Just as they did last January, Napa County homebuyers took their time, with homes selling in an average of 103 days.
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 hitting nearly $1.2 million in the fall, the median sales price for a single-family home in San Francisco has been edging down each month and fell to $975,000 in January. Successful buyers paid an average of 5 percent more than original price, in line with what we saw in December.
At 1.7, San Francisco’s MSI remains low but was improved from the previous few months. Homes sold in an average of 45 days, a one-year high.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
San Francisco also saw a decent uptick in the number of available condominiums from December to January, but the MSI was still low: 1.9. At $923,500, the median sales price was the lowest since April of last year.
Sellers got about 3 percent above original price, both a monthly and yearly gain. Condominiums in the city sold in an average of 48 days, one day longer than they did in January 2014.
SILICON VALLEY
The median sales price in Pacific Union’s Silicon Valley region shot up dramatically from December to January and nearly hit $3 million. However, a closer look at MLS data shows that the hefty increase was in part driven by a $25 million sale in Los Altos Hills. The MSI doubled from the previous month to close January at a still-tight 2.0.
The average Silicon Valley home sold for 99.5 percent of asking price, and properties left the market in an average of 40 days, almost two weeks quicker than they did one year earlier.
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 Silicon Valley, our Mid-Peninsula subregion was one of three Northern California markets to see median sales price appreciation on a month-over-month basis in January, rising to almost $1.7 million. But even with price escalation, buyers appeared to have some room to negotiate, with homes selling for 97.5 percent of original price.
Properties sold in an average of 47 days, similar to last January’s pace, while the MSI grew to 1.8, a healthy jump from December when inventory bottomed out.
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
At $479,000, January’s median home sales price in Sonoma County was in the same general range that it has been for the past year. Buyers continued to pay a little less than original price, with properties going for 95 percent of list.
Homes took an average of 89 days to sell, the longest amount of time as in any month over the past year. At 2.0, the MSI is larger than it was in December, but there are fewer homes on the market than in the opening month of 2014.
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
In January, the median sales price in Pacific Union’s Sonoma Valley region decreased to $545,000, the lowest since late last summer. But since then, sellers have been getting an increasingly larger percentage of original price each month, and in January the average home sold for 95 percent of list.
Homes left the market in an average of 89 days – a week longer than in December – and the MSI expanded to 3.1, its highest level in several months.
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
Single-family homes in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region sold at a quicker pace – an average of 97 days – than they did in either of the previous two months, while the MSI increased to 6.0.
Lake Tahoe/Truckee’s median sales price of $649,000 was up on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. Buyers paid about 88 percent of original price, 4 percent less than they did in January 2014.
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 has been dropping steadily since October and closed out 2015’s inaugural month at $290,000. Buyers had plenty of properties to choose from, as the MSI shot up to 13.9, a one-year high.
Condominiums in the region took an average of about four months to sell, almost identical to December’s pace, while sellers received an average of 93 percent of asking price, up from the previous few months.
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.