Bay Area Median Home Price Hits $550,000

Citing increased demand, strained inventory, record-low mortgage rates and robust investor interest, a real estate information service reported this month that Santa Clara County continued its rise in this fall.

DataQuick reported that the median home price in Santa Clara County rose to $550,000 in November, up 21.7 percent from $452,000 a year earlier. A total of 1,478 homes were sold in November, up 15.5 percent from 1,707 in November 2011.

The rise of the median home price in Santa Clara County had some individual cities showing remarkable spikes, according to DataQuick's city data for October. In Palo Alto, for instance, the median home price jumped from $1,058,000 in October 2011 to $1,605,000 in October 2012, a more than 51 percent increase.

Los Gatos, Gilroy, Milpitas, Saratoga and Mountain View all had double-digit, year-over-year percentage increases in their median home price.

The month of strong sales and rising sale prices in Santa Clara County was on part with most of the Bay Area housing market, which "continued its march toward normalcy in November," DataQuick reported.

A total of 7,296 new and resale homes were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 15.5 percent from 6,317 for November 2011, according to DataQuick.

“Current trends are likely to stay with us well into spring, at least,” John Walsh, DataQuick president, said in a statement. "One of the variables that could really impact the market would be supply—how many homes are put up for sale. There are still mortgage finance issues. Some loan categories are not active. But right now, low mortgage interest rates make up for that."

The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area was $438,000 in November. That was up 5.3 percent from $416,000 in October and up 20.5 percent from $363,500 in November a year ago. Last month’s median was the highest since August 2008, when it was $447,000.

Here's a Bay Area breakdown of home sales and median price: 

All Homes	#Sold	#Sold	% Change	Median	Median	% Change
	Nov. 2011	Nov. 2012		Nov. 2011	Nov. 2012
Marin	239	272	13.8%	$629,000	$682,000	8.4%
Alameda	1,334	1,525	23.7%	$340,000	$415,000	22.1%
Contra Costa	1,225	1,394	13.8%	$255,000	$322,000	26.3%
Napa	99	133	34.3%	$297,000	$360,000	21.2%
Santa Clara	1,478	1,707	15.5%	$452,000	$550,000	13%
San Francisco	422	524	24.2%	$644,500	$728,000	25.1%
San Mateo	513	612	19.3%	$542,500	$618,000	13.9%
Solano	522	584	11.9%	$190,000	$221,500	16.6%
Sonoma	485	545	12.4%	$285,000	$349,000	22.5%
Bay Area	6,317	7,296	15.5%	$363,500	$438,000	20.5%

Last month distressed property sales—the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales”—made up 35.0 percent of the resale market. Foreclosure resales—homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months—accounted for 11.5 percent of resales in November.

Absentee buyers, mostly investors, purchased 24.4 percent of all Bay Area homes in November, up from 23.7 percent in October, and up from 21.7 percent a year ago.

Here's a breakdown of Los Gatos home sales and median price:

Palo Alto Zip Code	Homes sold Oct.  2012	% Change from Oct. 2011	Median Price Oct. 2012
94301	15	168.3%	$2,415,000
94303	36	205.3%	$870,000
94306	26	41.2%	$1,624,000