OAKLAND, Calif. – The Bay Area saw the biggest jump in home prices on a year-over-year basis in California last month, amid a slump in statewide home sales, according to new figures.
The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) said mortgage rates hit their highest levels since late last year, affecting the number of homes sold across the state.
In the Bay Area, Solano County saw a more than 20% decline in sales in May compared to a year ago.
Sales also fell in Napa County, where they were down 7.5%.
There was a slight .06% dip in Sonoma County, but otherwise, most of the region was immune to the statewide decline in sales.
San Francisco saw a notable jump in the number of homes sold with a more than 20% increase.
The Bay Area as a whole saw a double-digit increase in home prices from a year ago, the biggest across the state.
The median exceeded $1.45 million for an existing single-family home, up almost 12% from the same time last year, when the median was $1.3 million.
“A persistent shortage of homes for sale, particularly in the more affordable market segments, continued to push up California’s median home price to new record highs over the past couple of months,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine.
Industry experts also noted that when mortgage rates bounce back from recent elevated levels, median prices may keep scaling, with increases to hit before the summer’s end.
San Mateo County reigned when it came to Bay Area home prices, with a median of $2.4 million last month, up 15.7% year-over-year.
Santa Clara County followed at $2.1 million.
Marin County was at $1.8 million. San Francisco had a median of almost $1.7 million. Alameda County stood at more than $1.37 million.
The May figures show three counties recorded a median at sub-one million: Contra Costa County at $942,500, and in Napa County, the median was $987,000.
Solano County sat at the bottom, with a median of $605,000, far below the state figure of $908,040.
The county also recorded the biggest year-over-year increase in the number of for-sale properties with active listings up more than 85%.
A for sale sign is posted in front of a home for sale on February 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
