Bay Area home prices, sales on the rise
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Bay Area home prices are on the rise, thanks to strong demand from buyers and limited inventory.
Julie Del Santo, CEO of the Dudum Real Estate Group, primarily works out of Contra Costa County and calls the current real estate market "explosive."
"We've had our biggest month in July that we've had since our 10 years of business and my 21 years in the real estate business,' said Del Santo.
She says some people already living in the suburbs are moving out of state to Idaho and Montana, while homes in Contra Costa County are being purchased from buyers in the South Bay, Peninsula, San Francisco, and the Oakland Hills.
"Everyone's just shifting a little bit which is keeping things flowing," said Del Santo.
May and June are typically busy months in real estate, followed by a slow July and August. But 2020 is anything but usual and the trend has reversed according to Selma Hepp, the deputy chief economist for CoreLogic.
"A lot of the activity that was going to happen during the spring months has now shifted to summer months," said Hepp.
According to new data from CoreLogic, Bay Area home sales in July were up 9% compared to July 2019.
The median home price is up 6% percent to $865,000.
Marin and Sonoma counties top the region for the highest increase in July home sales.
Home sales in Marin jumped 26% year-over-year, Sonoma went up 23%, while Santa Clara County jumped 14%.
Alameda and San Francisco were the only counties in the Bay Area to see a drop in home sales.
"Amidst of all this demand that we're seeing, we're actually not seeing as much inventory accept in maybe San Francisco," said Hepp.
The president of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors, Tangie Leverett, said home sales came to a halt in the spring but last month marked a noticeable change.
"A listing that I had last month, it was on the market about 2 days before it went pending," said Leverett.
The realtor says she's seeing more people moving from cities to the suburbs along with couples looking for more space as they work from home.
"Some buyers are starting to get frustrated because they're losing out on several homes they're getting outbid on," said Leverett.
She expects the market to remain busy at least through the end of the year, as long as interest rates remain low.
Maureen Naylor is a reporter for KTVU. Email Maureen at maureen.naylor@foxtv.com and follow her on Twitter @MaureenKTVU