Bay Area Month-Over-Month Home Sales Up, But Down Year-Over-Year

SF BAY AREA, CA -- A total of 4,354 new and existing homes and condominiums were sold in the Bay Area during February, up nearly 13 percent from the previous month, but February's sales represent a drop of 12.8 percent from the 4,993 sold in February 2018., according to a report issued Thursday by housing research firm CoreLogic.

The year-over-year fall in sales has continued for the past nine consecutive months, according to CoreLogic data. This February's numbers are the lowest for that month since 2008, when 3,989 homes were sold, according to the report.

Sales of newly built homes in particular fared even worse this February, with a decline of 43.9 percent from the month's historical average of new home sales. Additionally, resales of existing houses were down 25.3 percent from the February average.

"For the third month in a row, Bay Area home sales were at an 11-year low for that month. However, the year-over-year decline in sales has ratcheted down the past two months," CoreLogic analyst Andrew LePage said in a statement.

The median price for homes sold in the Bay Area in February was $770,000, representing an increase of 5.5 percent from $730,000 in January and 2.7 percent from $750,000 in February 2018, according to CoreLogic.

Year-over-year, median home prices have been rising since April 2012, a streak of 83 straight months, data show. And of homes sold, prices over $500,000 have accounted for increasing shares of the market: 76 percent of all sales in February, up from 74.8 percent of sales in February 2018.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.