February home sales in Sonoma County were better than they were a year ago, in both prices paid and volume sold, a real estate information service reported.
Sonoma County bucked regional and statewide real estate trends last month, which saw fewer homes sales than in February 2012, according to figures provided by DataQuick, a San Diego-based analysis service.
Sales are generally flat from January to February, according to DataQuick's analysts.
But Sonoma County saw a 6.6 percent increase in the number of homes sold between February 2013 (403 homes) and February 2012 (378 homes). Last month's sales also are on-par with the 398 homes sold in January of this year.
The median home price in Sonoma County also rose to $345,000 last month, a 16.9 increase over February 2012 and a $5,000 jump from the median sale price in the county in January.
The median price of a home sold in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area skyrocketed nearly 25 percent when comparing February 2013 to February 2012, the data showed. The median has had a double-digit year-over-year increase the last nine months, and the past four months have seen gains above 20 percent.
Bay Area Real Estate Stats for February Sales Volume Median Price County Feb. 2012 Feb. 2013 % Change Feb. 2012 Feb. 2013 % Change Alameda 1,183 1,144-3.3%
$295,000$372,000
26.1% Contra Costa 1,168 1,148 -1.7% $235,000 $311,000 32.3% Marin 203 201 -1% $535,000 $650,000 21.4% Napa 103 91 -11.7% $320,000 $415,000 29.7% Santa Clara 1,281 1,159 -9.5% $432,000 $554,000 28.2% San Francisco 409 356 -13% $624,000 $700,500 12.3% San Mateo 496 414 -16.5% $492,500 $635,000 28.9% Solano 532 488 -8.3% $172,000 $214,000 24.6% Sonoma 378 403 6.6% $295,000 $345,000 16.9% Bay Area 5,753 5,505 -6.1% $325,000 $405,000 24.6%Other interesting real estate market facts this month? DataQuick supplied these:
- The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,460. That was down from $1,479 in January, and up from $1,243 a year ago.
- The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers last month were Wells Fargo with 15.0 percent of the market, Stearns Lending with 4.0 percent, and RPM Mortgage with 3.7 percent.
- Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – accounted for 13.6 percent in the Bay Area in February. That's the lowest since November 2007.
"...[W]ith a recovering economy, prices still closer to the bottom than to the top, with ultra-low mortgage interest rates and tight supply, the stage is set for price gains," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. "This spring is going to be interesting."
