Sonoma County bucked regional and statewide real estate trends last month, which saw fewer homes sales than in February 2012, according to figures provided by DataQuick, a San Diego-based analysis service.

Sales are generally flat from January to February, according to DataQuick’s analysts.

But Sonoma County saw a 6.6 percent increase in the number of homes sold between February 2013 (403 homes) and February 2012 (378 homes). Last month’s sales also are on-par with the 398 homes sold in January of this year.

The median home price in Sonoma County also rose to $345,000 last month, a 16.9 increase over February 2012 and a $5,000 jump from the median sale price in the county in January.

Last month’s figures showed the median home price for the county was $340,000, up from $285,000 in January 2012.

The median price of a home sold in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area skyrocketed nearly 25 percent when comparing February 2013 to February 2012, the data showed. The median has had a double-digit year-over-year increase the last nine months, and the past four months have seen gains above 20 percent.

Other interesting real estate market facts this month? DataQuick supplied these:

• The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,460. That was down from $1,479 in January, and up from $1,243 a year ago.
• The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 15.0 percent of the market, Stearns Lending with 4.0 percent, and RPM Mortgage with 3.7 percent.
• Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 13.6 percent in the Bay Area in February. That’s the lowest since November 2007.

“…[W]ith a recovering economy, prices still closer to the bottom than to the top, with ultra-low mortgage interest rates and tight supply, the stage is set for price gains,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “This spring is going to be interesting.”

Article source: http://petaluma.patch.com/articles/sonoma-county-home-prices-on-the-rise-again

Political consultant Jim Stearns, who is representing the labor organizations behind the recount effort, said after reviewing the cost estimates provided by the Department of Elections late Friday, the group decided it was simply too expensive. Elections Director John Arntz estimated that it would cost nearly $80,000 to manually re-tally the 35,140 ballots cast in the race and that a machine recount would cost about $7,000 less. In a Monday letter to Arntz announcing their intent to cancel the recount request, lawyer Jim Sutton wrote that a complete recount could cost as much as $120,000.

A recount has never been done since San Francisco instituted ranked-choice voting eight years ago, and it appears to be two to three times as expensive as in a normal, two-candidate race.

“We still believe that the election was close enough to merit a recount, and believe there was good chance that results could have changed,” Stearns said Monday. “But given the prices from the Department of Elections, we simply can’t afford it. At these costs, it’s hard to see how any individual campaign or organization other than the most wealthy ones could ever afford a recount.”

Considering the costs, Stearns said, city officials may want to consider whether taxpayers should at least partially fund recounts under ranked-choice voting. In the letter, Sutton urged city officials to consider “adopting a rule whereby the city would pay for a recount should the results be within a certain margin, as is done in several states,” or to explore a change in city law, which currently limits the amount a candidate can raise from their existing donor pool to $100 per person. The letter noted that $120,000 is more than many candidates raise during their entire race.

- Marisa Lagos

On the move: Mayor Ed Lee is focusing on former Building Inspection Commissioner Mel Murphy as he looks to fill an open seat on the city’s Port Commission, an influential panel that will consider major developments planned for the waterfront, including a proposed arena.

Lee on Monday took a break from holding up his end of the bargain on his World Series bet with Detroit’s Mayor David Bing to tell the Insider he was waiting for a completed background check of Murphy before making an appointment.

“He’s a contender for sure,” Lee said.

Murphy, co-owner of Murphy O’Brien Real Estate Investments, is also a director of the Coalition for Responsible Growth, a political advocacy group funded largely by developers and others with real estate interests.

If appointed, his confirmation could face opposition from some on the Board of Supervisors’ left flank who consider the group too conservative.

Last year, Lee’s election campaign said it had returned seven contributions from Department of Building Inspection employees totaling $2,150 that were donated at a fundraiser at Murphy’s home. City law prohibits commissioners from soliciting city employees for campaign contributions.

- John Coté

E-mail: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SFCityInsider.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-election-loser-drops-recount-request-4088402.php