Even as nationwide home sales fell last month, California's housing market stayed strong. The California Association of REALTOR® reports the state bucked the nationwide trend in February, posting gains from both the prior month and year. Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Santa Clara County, even saw double-digit gains.
The National Association of REALTORS® said on Wednesday existing home sales slipped 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.59 million units in February. Still, last month's sales pace was the second highest since May 2010, according to NAR. In the meantime, C.A.R reports closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in the state totaled 528,010 in February, up 2.1 percent from the revised sales figure in January and up 5.5 percent from sales in February 2011.
"Recent encouraging signs in the GDP, employment picture, and consumer confidence suggest that a growing economy is in the making. All this, combined with continued-low mortgage rates, lays out a good foundation for the housing market to continue to grow as we enter the spring home buying season," said C.A.R. vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young.
In Santa Clara County and in much of the Bay Area, sales were strong last month. Data from C.A.R. shows February sales of existing, single-family detached homes in Santa Clara County increased 13.6 percent from January 2012 and 5 percent from February of 2011. San Francisco experienced the highest month-to-month sales gain at 32.9 percent and a year-to-year increase of 33.7 percent. Other counties seeing double-digit increases in sales from the previous year were Sonoma, 32.4 percent; Solano, 30.4 percent; Napa, 20 percent; Marin, 13.1 percent; San Mateo, 12 percent; and Alameda, 12 percent.
California's median price dipped from January but is beginning to show signs of stabilization, according to REALTOR® officials. The median price of an existing, single-family detached home last month was $266,660, down 0.6 percent from the median price of $268,280 in January, and down 1.7 percent from the revised $271,370 median price during the same time last year.
The February median price of an existing, single-family detached home in Santa Clara County was $530,000, up 7.1 percent from $495,000 in January and up 1.9 percent from $520,000 in February 2011. San Mateo County's February median price was $582,500, up 0.7 percent from the January median of $578,500, and down 1.5 percent from the February 2011 median of $591,500.
Suzanne Yost, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®, said sales activity in the region has picked up. "The energy is electric… The market is improving. We are increasingly hearing stories of multiple offers and sold prices over the list price."
Information from MLSListings Inc., the multiple listing service of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®, shows local sales and median sales price trending upward. In Palo Alto last month there were 24 closed sales of single-family homes, up from 17 recorded in February last year and 19 sales in January. The February median sales price of a single-family home in Palo Alto was $1,945,000. The median was $1,515,000 in January and $1,617,000 in February 2011.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
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