Home Prices Leap in Contra Costa County While Home Sales Fall

Home prices in Contra Costa County jumped sharply last month while a lack of inventory caused a decrease in the number of home sales.

The median price of all homes sold in the county in June was $415,000, according to the latest survey done by San Diego-based DataQuick.

That was $100,000 more than the $315,000 recorded in June 2012, a 31 percent increase.

However, home sales dipped. DataQuick reported. There were 1,459 houses sold last month compared to 1,704 in June 2012, a 14 percent decrease.

The number of new homes sold in Contra Costa County plummeted from 98 a year ago to 15 last month. However, the median price of new homes jumped from $344,000 to $444,000, a 29 percent increase.

The number of existing home sales dropped from 1,338 in June 2012 to 1,194 last month, a decrease of 10 percent. The median price of existing homes that were sold jumped from $329,000 to $437,000, a 32 percent increase.

The number of existing condos that were sold dipped slightly from 268 last year to 250 last month. The median price, however, leapt from $202,000 to $300,000, a 48 percent increase.

Overall, each of the nine counties in the Bay Area saw double-digit median home price increases in June compared to June 2012, led by 44 percent spikes in Alameda and Napa counties.

The Bay Area as a whole recorded a median home price of $555,000 in June, up 33 percent from $417,000 in June 2012 and up 7 percent from $519,000 in May. The year-over-year median home price increase for the Bay Area was the fastest pace on record, DataQuick officials said.

(Note: The chart above reflects median home price for all homes – both detached single-family homes and condos/townhouses – across the nine-county Bay Area.)

DataQuick officials attributed the rise in home prices to the disappearance of distress sales, an improving economy and mortgage rates that remain low.

The dip in home sales across the Bay Area was due to a slow-growing supply of homes on the market. The supply continues to fall short of demand and an easing of purchases by cash and investor buyers eased.

“It’s easier for a market to regain lost ground than to push into new territory,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement. “We’re still bouncing off the bottom. This next part of the cycle should be fairly self-adjusting. As prices go up, more homes will come on the market. Price pressures will ease. The only element we don’t know much about right now is how much pent-up demand there really is out there.”