The median price of $540,000 paid across the nine-county region was up 31.7 percent from a year earlier, said DataQuick of San Diego. Meanwhile, the 8,616 new and resale homes and condos that changed hands in August were 0.6 percent shy of the number sold in August 2012.

“No matter which price gauge or index you look at, prices are up a lot – much more than people had expected,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst. “The median has been up around 30 percent (compared with the previous year) for the past five months, but I don’t expect that this rate of increase will continue much longer.”

Several trends should soon slow the growth, including rising mortgage interest rates, more homes for sale, fewer cash-paying investors, and dwindling of bargain distress sales.

More homes to see

Real estate agents said that rising inventory is quite apparent.

“I’m definitely starting to see more houses for sale,” said Corey Weinstein, an agent with Red Oak Realty in the East Bay. “The brokers’ tour list for this week was bigger. The Sunday open house guide was a lot longer. There’s an optimism among buyers that there is a lot more out there to see.”

One result is that bidding wars, while still a factor, now involve just a handful of potential buyers, rather than a dozen.

Increasingly more homeowners are finding out that the math works out for them to sell now.

Graham Humphreys and Anissa Burnley are listing their three-plus bedroom Cape Cod-style home near Oakland’s Glen Echo Creek, close to lower Piedmont Avenue and Adams Point.

“We bought the house in 2005 at the peak of the market,” Humphreys said. “It’s a beautiful house that we absolutely loved, but in the interim, like a lot of people, we had our time of being underwater, our time when we might have wanted to move but couldn’t sell.”

Better for buyers

Now as they seek more space for a growing family, they’re able to put it on the market, asking $679,000, a bit more than the $644,000 they paid.

“In the space of a couple of years, it’s gone from a relatively dire situation for many of us to an opportunity for both the sellers and buyers,” Humphreys said. “Everything has changed.”

For home buyers who’ve faced frustrating bidding wars and dearth of inventory, the increase in for-sale listings is welcome news.

“Home shopping should be much more enjoyable this fall than it was earlier in the year,” LePage said. “People will still bemoan the increase in prices, but there will be more homes to choose from. The typical home buyer won’t feel as rushed.”

Around the Bay Area some of the biggest price increases were in lower-cost counties. Solano County saw the median jump 46.1 percent, albeit starting from a low base. It is now $277.500. Contra Costa’s median was up 40.9 percent to $420,250.

The rising prices helped fuel another trend: Condo sales hit an eight-year high for the month of August with 1,960 changing hands at a median price of $445,000.

Lower-priced condos are typically a way that first-time buyers get a foothold in the market when they’re priced out of single-family homes in their desired area.

As is normal in the late summer, both price and sales dipped in August compared with the previous month. The median was 3.9 percent short of July’s $562,000 median, and sales were down 7.7 percent from July.

Home values increase

About three-quarters of the median’s rise stemmed from an actual increase in home values, with the remainder being due to a changing market mix.

Distress sales were less than half the level of a year ago. Foreclosure resales accounted for 4.6 percent of August resales (the same as in July) versus 14.5 percent a year earlier. That 4.6 percent is the lowest share since August 2007, just before the credit crunch hit.

Short sales, or homes sold for less than is owed on the mortgage, were 10 percent of resales, down from 23.3 percent in August 2012.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Bay-Area-home-sales-subside-but-prices-increase-4813295.php

A total of 9,339 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in the nine-county Bay Area in July – up 13.3 percent from July 2012, said DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm. The median paid was $562,000, a 33.5 percent increase from the same time last year.

Pent-up buyer demand, an improving regional economy and low interest rates have propelled home prices upward for many months. But a dearth of homes for sale meant the number being sold fell on a year-over-year basis every month since January. That trajectory reversed course in July.

“It was a really strong month,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst.

Rising inventory shows the real estate market regaining equilibrium.

“Sellers want to jump on the train by putting their properties on the market, which levels supply and demand,” said Tanja Beck, an agent with Zephyr Real Estate in San Francisco.

Fewer bids

More inventory, as well as rising interest rates, should soon rein in the sharp price increases. Although bidding wars still occur, many agents say multiple offers now are measured in smaller numbers – perhaps three bids instead of a dozen.

While San Francisco is the nation’s most competitive market, with 80.5 percent of successful home buyers facing other bids, multiple offers in the city dropped nearly 10 percent from June to July, according to a report from real estate firm Redfin.

Nationwide, fewer bidding wars “points toward the strong sellers’ market beginning to shift toward more balance, giving frustrated home buyers a bit of relief,” Redfin said.

Distress sales are down sharply, another sign of a return to normal. Foreclosure resales were under 5 percent of the total – their lowest level since August 2007, before the credit crunch hit. In February 2009, foreclosure resales were 52 percent of the market, DataQuick said. Their historic monthly average in the Bay Area is about 10 percent of sales.

Short sales – properties sold for less than is owed on the mortgage – were 10 percent of July resales, down from 23.7 percent a year earlier.

Fewer distress sales also mean that people who sell their homes are likely to turn around and buy another property, creating a positive upward spiral.

“There was a time when more than half the sales were the lender pocketing money (in a foreclosure resale) so they just ended there,” LePage said. “Now a greater and greater percentage are traditional sellers, who will move up and buy from someone who themselves will move up.”

Upward mobility

Jessica and Josh Rowe exemplify that move-up buyer. The couple, along with their toddler and two French bulldogs, wants to move from San Francisco to the South Bay to live closer to their jobs. They listed their condo in Haight-Ashbury, a three-bedroom remodeled Victorian, at $949,000. It’s likely to go for well above asking price.

“To go from being sellers to being buyers, your confidence gets crazy-hacked,” said Jessica Rowe. “As a seller, you’re on top of the world, you make all this money – but as a buyer you can’t afford to get (something comparable) to what you just sold.”

The Haight condo itself illustrates the market turnaround. When the Rowes bought it three years ago – near the market’s bottom – the previous owners were on the brink of foreclosure. After unsuccessfully listing it at $799,000 for a month, they slashed the price to $755,000, which is what the Rowes paid.

The Bay Area’s median price is now 15.5 percent off the $665,000 peak it reached in summer 2007, LePage said. During the downturn, its nadir was $290,000 in March 2009.

The median represents the middle value of homes sold, meaning half sold for more and half for less. DataQuick said about three-quarters of the median’s increase stems from rising home values, the remainder from a shift in market mix.

More high-end homes and fewer inexpensive ones sold in July. Just over half (51 percent) of sales had mortgages above the old jumbo limit of $417,000, compared with 38.6 percent a year earlier and the low point of 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Federal Housing Administration loans, mostly used by first-time buyers, were 10.6 percent of purchase mortgages in July, down from 16 percent a year earlier. First-time home buyers consistently report getting squeezed out by investors and others paying all cash.

All-cash sales continued to be a strong force, accounting for 24 percent of July purchases, DataQuick said. In February, they peaked at 32.3 percent of sales.

Absentee buyers, who are mainly investors, snapped up 20.9 percent of Bay Area homes in July. Their market share also peaked in February, at 28.7 percent.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Bay-Area-home-prices-sales-climb-in-July-4736589.php

Article source: http://southsanfrancisco.patch.com/groups/real-estate/p/local-home-prices-among-highest-in-bay-area

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) – The real estate tracking firm DataQuick said Thursday that the median price for homes in the nine-county San Francisco Bay area reached $555,000 in June, an increase of 6.9 percent over the previous month.

The real estate data firm is reporting the median year-over-year price paid for a Bay Area home rose at its fastest pace on record in June.

DataQuick said Thursday that the rise was the result of disappearing distress sales, an improving economy and mortgage rates remaining low.

However, the number of homes sold dropped 7.5 percent to 7,897 in June. DataQuick attributes the decrease to the number of homes for sale falling short of demand and an easing of purchases by cash and investor buyers.

The real estate information service says last month’s sales were 20.9 percent below the June average of 9,993 sales.

• See the full DataQuick report and County-by-County sales breakdown

Home prices in the Bay Area are through the roof according to a new study by Data Quick.

Back in 2009, during the depths of the recession, the median price of a home was $290,000. Now that figure is $555,000; six percent higher than last month and 33 percent higher than one year ago.

Data Quick Analyst Andrew LePage said it’s a matter of supply and demand. We’ve seen sales fall on a year-over-year basis for the last five months in a row.

Richard Green with the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California said much of it is the shortage of homes for sale.

“Inventories are very small,” he said adding that there are many more all cash transactions than ever, which drives up the market for higher-end homes and drives up sale prices.

Speculators have said that things could ease with fewer homes underwater, prompting sales and increasing supply. In addition, developers are also starting to build new homes again.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Article source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/07/18/median-bay-area-home-price-jumps-again-as-inventory-remains-tight/

The $510,000 median for the nine-county Bay Area represents a jump of 30.8 percent from a year ago and a record 17 percent above March’s median price, said DataQuick, a San Diego real estate service that produced the report.

“The Bay Area is getting back to normal fast,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst. “We’ve had just the right ingredients for big increases in the median and other price measures. We’ve got drum-tight inventory of homes for sale, an unprecedented level of investors chasing homes, interest rates lower than most of us alive have ever seen, and changes in the types of homes selling and where they’re selling.”

The median represents a midpoint, meaning half of Bay Area homes sold for more than $510,000 and half sold for less. It is influenced both by actual appreciation in home values and by a changing mix of homes sold.

The Bay Area median peaked at $665,000 in summer 2007. During the real estate downturn, bargain-basement foreclosures and short sales helped drag the median down to a low of $375,000 in March 2009. Now, with far fewer distress sales and more high-end homes changing hands, a similar dynamic is buoying it. DataQuick said the median has regained 59 percent of its losses.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: Csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Bay-Area-median-home-price-hits-510-000-4520145.php

It’s a normal life transition – but one that would have been unavailable to him just a year ago, when his home was underwater. Now, with the Bay Area real estate market on a rapid upward trajectory, Walawitch, 62, should be able to sell his three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at a decent profit.

“This is my dream, it will provide me with the down payment for my retirement home,” he said. “I was quite concerned (during the housing downturn); I didn’t know how long I’d have to stay in the house. I’m very happy the market has turned.”

Sale prices of Bay Area homes surged in 2012 at a pace that accelerated throughout the year, according to DataQuick, a San Diego research firm. In December the nine-county median rose to $442,750, an astounding 32 percent increase compared with the prior year – the highest jump in 25 years of record keeping, DataQuick said Wednesday.

That benchmark is heavily influenced by a changing mixture of homes sold. About half of the increase represents higher values, while the other half stems from fewer bargain-priced distress sales and more high-end homes changing hands.

Foreclosures dropping

Foreclosures and short sales comprised about a third of the resale market in December; a year earlier, they were 52.4 percent of sales. The number of homes sold for more than $500,000 rose 61.2 percent, while the number sold for less than $500,000 fell 12.6 percent compared with a year earlier, DataQuick said.

“This absolutely does not mean the typical house in the Bay Area is up 32 percent compared to last year,” said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.

Beating previous year

However, 2012′s strong sales do show a market that is finally in recovery after the carnage of the housing collapse. From April on, Bay Area median sales prices consistently outshone those of the prior year; from June through December they outperformed 2011 by double-digit percentages.

“We’ve had a sustained buildup,” LePage said. “There is real price appreciation, particularly in the more-desirable coastal markets with a lot of demand meeting very little inventory.”

A total of 7,832 new and resale homes and condos changed hands in the nine-county Bay Area in December, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier. Realtors throughout the region report that inventories remain super-tight and many homes attract boom-style bidding wars.

December marked “the 20th consecutive month of a decline in inventory,” said Glen Bell of Better Homes and Gardens Mason McDuffie Real Estate, speaking of data for Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

The East Bay now has a two-week supply of homes for sale (meaning the existing inventory would sell out in two weeks at the current sales pace), the lowest he has ever seen, Bell said. Ordinarily it should have a three- or four-month supply.

Investors jumping in

“There is so much (buyer) competition for so few properties out there that people are scrambling to try to get in,” he said. “If a home looks good, is in an area people want to live in and is priced right, you get multiple offers all over the place.”

Even properties that don’t meet those criteria win popularity contests. Bell recently listed “a little, tiny, dinky fixer,” a bank-owned foreclosure in a “not great area of Richmond,” priced at $72,000, and received 32 offers, six of them north of $100,000. Every offer was for all cash, implying they were from investors. It went into contract this week for about two-thirds above the asking price.

All that competition – so many buyers vying over so few houses – is driving up prices. But soon it should also bring more sellers, increasing inventory, which in turn should moderate the pace of price hikes.

Correction is real

Potential sellers “are getting the sense that the market has really corrected and this is a good time to make a move,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which covers much of Northern California. “The market improvement has gotten people to a point where they can transact, which they previously couldn’t.”

Will spring, the traditional kickoff for real estate’s strongest selling season, see a surge in sellers?

“We are certainly hopeful that the spring will give us the bump we need in listing inventory,” Turley said.

Looking back at the full year, 2012 saw an annual Bay Area median price of $404,000, still shy of the median a decade earlier. But annual medians – which mute some of the month-to-month spikes – paint a portrait of a market where the prices that shot up during the boom and crashed during the collapse now seem on a steadier path.

Could the rise in prices presage another housing bubble?

“I don’t think it will shoot up and crash down again,” Turley said. “The more-conservative lending will help us to stay healthy longer.”

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Bay-Area-home-sales-prices-surging-4200912.php