Bay Area home sales jumped almost 15% in May on a sequential basis—and 26% compared to a year ago, according to new figures compiled by DataQuick.
The real estate information provider found that 8,810 new and resale homes and condominiums sold in the Bay Area during the period. It was the highest level of sales seen for a May since 2006 when 9,935 units sold.
DataQuick president John Walsh said in a press statement that the increase seen in May is “not exactly a stampede, but people are starting to move off the housing market sidelines in numbers we haven’t seen in a while.”
There were more mid- to high-end deals during the month and fewer foreclosure resales, which the company said contributed to a 7.5% year-over-year rise in the median sales price to $400,000. This marked the second consecutive year-to-year monthly increase in median price. On a month-to-month basis, the median price for the area was up 2.6%.
Robert Cohan, president of a Beverly Hills-based lender that tends to specialize in higher-balance loans, told this publication in a recent interview the market for higher-end deals in Northern as well as Southern California have recently heated up a bit.
