A total of 8,579 homes sold in the nine-county Bay Area in August, the real estate information service reported, an increase of 14.2 percent. While the median price dipped slightly from July — from $421,000 to $410,000 — it increased 10.8 percent year-over-year; sales typically increase and median price typically decreases from July to August, Bay Area home sales have increased year-over-year every month since July 2011, as the region’s housing market recovers from the subprime mortgage crisis that sent the economy into the Great Recession and crated home sales and prices.
August was the fifth consecutive month that the median price increased from the same month the previous year, as higher-priced homes have begun selling at a faster clip while fewer foreclosures are purchased. Foreclosures accounted for 14.9 percent of resales in August, the lowest percentage since December 2007, while 40.2 percent of homes sold went for more than $500,000.
While the market has definitely boomeranged during the past year, it is not completely healthy because of a tight credit market that can keep prospective homeowners for obtaining a mortgage loan
Most economists agree that the housing market is off Bottom
The largest median price increase occurred in Contra Costa County, with a 15.2 percent bump from $260,500 to $300,000. The sales bump in Contra Costa was the lowest in the Bay Area, however, as 4.6 percent more homes sold than in August 2011.
Alameda County home sales increased 22 percent year-over-year, while the median price rose 8.9 percent to $380,000. Santa Clara County’s median price jumped higher than $500,000, at $542,750, thanks to a 10.3 percent increase; home sales increased in the South Bay county by 9.3 percent.
San Mateo County’s growth was tame compared with its neighbors, with the Peninsula gaining 5.6 percent in sales and 3.9 percent in median price, at $592,500.
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Nino G.
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