Archive for February, 2018

Bay Area home prices continue to rise in record streak

Richard Rogers looks at the kitchen at an open house at 5893 Taormino Avenue in San Jose, Calif. on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group)

Bay Area housing demand and prices continued a record-setting streak in January, as aggressive buyers pushed up year-over-year median sale prices for the 70th straight month.

A deepening shortage of homes for sale in the region drove up bidding for scarce supply. The median home price in the region rose to $710,000 in January, up from the median price of $628,000 a year ago, according to a report released Wednesday by real estate data firm CoreLogic.

Over the last six months, median home prices in the nine-county region have gained an average of 12.6 percent from the previous year.

But rising prices also meant a drop in home sales, particularly in entry-level units. The 4,884 home purchases last month represented a dip of nearly 8 percent from last year and the lowest January sales mark since 2008, according to CoreLogic.

CoreLogic research analyst Andrew LePage said the drop “has a lot to do with the continuing mismatch between housing supply and demand, especially in the lower price ranges.”

By Louis Hanse, Bay Area News Group