August 25th, 2017 2:20 PM by Mike Frangadakis
CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 24, 2017 – The San Francisco Bay Area real estate market softened in July 2017 as single-family home and condominium sales fell a higher than expected 19.5 percent from June 2017. July 2017 home sales were down 5.6 percent from 2016 marking the lowest July sales volume since 2010.
“San Francisco Bay Area home sales took a tumble in July, the lowest July sales since 2010 and the biggest June-to-July decline since 2006,” said Madeline Schnapp, Director of Economic Research for PropertyRadar. “While a sales decline in July is expected as we approach the end of the prime selling season, home affordability remains a persistent drag on the market with no end in sight.”
At the county level, July 2017 sales were down from July 2016 in eight of the nine Bay Area counties. San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma counties posted the largest annual declines of 16.2, 15.6, and 13.9 percent, respectively. Marin County was the only county that posted an annual sales gain of 6.1 percent.
The July 2017 San Francisco Bay Area median home price (single-family residence) was $800,000, down 4.5 percent from $815,000 in June 2017. On a year ago basis, prices were up 5.6 percent from $759,000 in July 2016. At the county level, July 2017 median home prices ranged from a low of $410,000 in Solano County to a high of $1.25 million in San Mateo County.
On a year ago basis, July 2017 median home prices were down in four of the nine Bay Area counties. The largest price declines were in Marin (-13.7 percent), San Francisco (-9.8 percent), San Mateo (-3.8 percent) and Santa Cruz (-0.9 percent). The biggest annual price increases were in the lower priced counties, Sonoma (9.1 percent), Solano (7.9 percent), Alameda (6.2 percent), Contra Costa (6.1 percent).
“Not surprisingly Sonoma and Solano counties saw the highest annual median price increases,” said Schnapp. “These counties are the farthest from the San Francisco-Silicon Valley million-dollar corridor. Vallejo, a city in Solano County, saw their annual median home price jump nearly 20 percent.”
“Smart investors and homebuyers recognized that Vallejo, whose July median home price was $385,000, nearly 70 percent less than San Francisco’s, presented an interesting value proposition,” said Schnapp. “Vallejo’s secret weapon is the San Francisco Bay Ferry system that transports commuters from Vallejo to downtown San Francisco in an hour. Grab a cup of coffee, sit down next to a window and connect your laptop to the ferry’s WiFi system and watch some of the most spectacular scenery in the world roll by at 40 miles per hour. It’s no wonder that Vallejo real estate is popping.”
“Given the fact that economic growth fundamentals are unlikely to change anytime soon, for the savvy real estate investor or buyer that can tolerate a longer commute, there is still plenty of value out there in counties within striking distance of the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Schnapp. “Nosebleed prices in the Marin to San Francisco to Silicon Valley corridor are beginning to falter as buyers migrate to neighboring counties or out of the area in search of more affordable housing.”
Source: http://news.theregistrysf.com/san-francisco-bay-area-home-sales-tumble-19-5-percent-july/