Supply problem helps Bay Area reach new record median home price

Bay Area median home price reaches new record at $850,000

As housing supply fails to keep up with demand, median home sales prices in the Bay Area continue to climb, reaching a record $850,000 in April, according to CoreLogic.

That figure is a 2.4-percent increase from March, and a 13.3-percent increase from April last year, when home prices averaged $750,000. Home sales prices have risen on a year-over-year basis for 73 consecutive months, since April 2012, with double-digit gains for the last nine months, CoreLogic reported.

In Santa Clara County, median sales price rose 23.3-percent year over year, from $916,500 in April 2017 to $1.15 million this past April.

“The Bay Area has experienced strong gains in home prices this year, but a portion of the increase in the region’s median sale price can be attributed to a subtle shift in the market mix, where a higher share of sales are occurring in mid- to high-priced areas,” said Andrew LePage, a CoreLogic analyst. “That’s in part because of the especially thin inventory of homes for sale in the more affordable areas, frustrating many first-time buyers.”
 

Below is the latest CoreLogic data by county, including total homes sold in April versus the same month last year. Despite increases in many counties year over year, April’s total sales in the Bay Area “were the second lowest for that month in seven years” as “inventory remained tight and affordability worsened with rising prices and mortgage rates,” LePage said.