The California Association of REALTORS® announced this week that the state's median home price posted the first annual gain in 16 months. The overall median's rise is due to a robust San Francisco Bay Area housing market, which is experiencing a high demand for homes.
Information collected by the state trade association from more than 90 local Realtor associations and MLSs statewide shows the state median price of an existing, single-family detached home, on the other hand, jumped 9.2 percent to $291,080 in March from February's $266,660 median and was up 1.6 percent from a revised $286,550 in March 2011. The month-to-month increase was the largest since March 2004. Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California in March were down 4.5 percent month-over-month and 2.3 percent year-to-year.
"While home sales were down statewide, the housing market continued to perform at a solid pace by historical standards. In fact, sales jumped significantly in most regions of the state, with many areas experiencing double-digit gains," said C.A.R. president LeFrancis Arnold. "Tight inventory and robust home sales, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, fueled the substantial increase in the March median home price."
The San Francisco Bay Area posted the highest month over month gains in both sales and median home price. March sales jumped 37.4 percent from the previous month and were up 0.7 percent from a year ago. The March median sales price of $478,330 was up 9.1 percent from the February median of $438,280, but 1.6 percent below the March 2011 median of $486,010.
In Santa Clara County, March sales increased 36.2 percent from February, but they were down 4.5 percent from a year ago. The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in Santa Clara County in March was $575,250, up 8.5 percent from the median price of $530,000 in February. The March 2011 median was $550,250.
California's housing inventory and the days it took to sell a home both declined in March. C.A.R.'s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes fell to 4.1 months in March, from 5.4 months in February and 5.4-month supply in March 2011. A 7-month supply is considered normal, according to C.A.R. officials. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home in March was 53.1 days, down from 57 days for the same time last year.
Santa Clara County had a lean housing inventory of just 2.5 months in March, down from a 3.5-month supply in February and 3.6 months in March of 2011. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home in the county in March was 24.3 days, compared to 28 days in February and 27.6 days in March 2011.
"Housing inventory continues to be a problem in many parts of the state, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. The counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo have the leanest inventory in the nine-county Bay Area," said Suzanne Yost, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®. "There is no problem with demand for homes in the region. Inventory is just very low now."
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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