The first month of the fourth quarter was a typically busy time for Bay Area real estate markets, with the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) declining or holding steady from September across the majority of Pacific Union’s regions. The exceptions were the Mid-Peninsula and Napa County, where the number of single-family homes for sale increased slightly, and the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region, where more sellers listed their properties in advance of the upcoming ski season.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in October.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
The median sales price in Contra Costa County ended October at $1,118,500, just a few thousand dollars higher than in September. Buyers paid 99 percent of original prices, the fifth consecutive month they have received slight discounts.
The MSI was 1.9, unchanged from the previous month, and homes sold in an average of 26 days.
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
East Bay homes continued to command handsome premiums in October, selling for almost 116 percent of asking prices. Homes left the market in a brisk 17 days, the eighth straight month that the pace of sales has been less than three weeks.
With a 1.2-month supply of inventory, the East Bay has the most severe shortage of homes for sale of any region in which Pacific Union operates. The median sales price ended the month at $975,000, in the same general range as it has been since the spring.
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 number of homes for sale in Marin County declined on both a monthly and yearly basis, ending October with a 1.4-month supply of inventory. At $1,249,000, the median sales price wasn’t far off from the preceding eight months.
Homes sold in an average of 49 days, one day longer than in August and September, and buyers paid 98.2 percent of original prices.
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
The median sales price in Napa County was $620,000 in October, down slightly on a monthly and annual basis. At 3.0, the MSI was nearly cut in half from October 2015.
Homes sold in an average of 72 days — about three weeks quicker than they did one year ago — for an average of 94.5 percent of asking prices.
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 hit a yearly high in October, closing out the month at $1,410,000. Sellers took home 103.6 percent of original prices, a bit less than in September.
At an average 28 days on the market, homes sold almost two weeks faster than they did in the preceding month, while the MSI fell to 1.7.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
The median sales price for a San Francisco condominium has stabilized over the past year and finished October at $1,164,000.
Properties have been commanding premiums for the past year and that trend continued in September, with condominiums selling for 102.2 percent of asking prices.
Month over month, the MSI inched down to 2.7 but was up from October 2015. The pace of sales quickened for the second month in a row, with units taking 37 days to leave the market.
SILICON VALLEY
Although Silicon Valley is still the Bay Area’s most expensive real estate market, the median price relaxed on both a monthly and annual basis to $2,610,000. The MSI declined to 1.6, down on a monthly and yearly basis.
Homes sold in an average of 39 days, more than double the amount of time from one year earlier. Buyers paid 96.9 percent of original prices, the seventh consecutive month that homes have sold for less than 100 percent.
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
With a 1.4-month supply of inventory in October, the number of homes for sale in our Mid-Peninsula subregion was consistent with levels recorded for most of 2016. Although the pace of sales has been slowing somewhat, homes still found a buyer in exactly four weeks.
The median sales price increased modestly from September to $1,662,500. Buyers paid 96.1 percent of asking prices, the first month in at least a year with no average premium.
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‘s MSI inched down from September to 1.9 and is in the same general volume as what we’ve seen since the spring. The median sales price has also been mostly consistent for the past year and closed out October at $599,000.
Homes sold in an average of 65 days, a few days longer than in September, and buyers paid 95.8 percent of asking prices.
Defining Sonoma County: Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.
SONOMA VALLEY
October’s median sales price for a property in Sonoma Valley was $742,500, almost identical to numbers recorded one year earlier. At 2.4, the MSI was also basically unchanged on an annual basis.
Homes took an average of 73 days to find a buyer and sold for 93.6 percent of original prices.
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 home listings in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area picked up in anticipation of the upcoming ski season, but at 4.1, the MSI is down significantly from October 2015. The median sales price declined to $642,000, down a bit from September but up from one year earlier.
The pace of sales and the percentage of original price paid were both nearly unchanged from September, a respective 73 days and 93.3 percent.
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 data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS
The median sales price for a condominium in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region finished October at $399,000, up month over month and year over year. The MSI increased to 6.1, similar to supply conditions recorded one year ago.
Units sold in an average of 94 days and for 93.4 percent of original prices.
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 data in the adjoining chart includes condominiums in these communities.