Median House Sales Price Hits New High in Quarter

July 2020 Report

Despite the ongoing health and economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19, the Marin real estate market made a dramatic recovery from the steep declines in March and April. The median house sales price hit a new high in Q2, and high-end homes, in particular, have seen extremely strong demand – in fact, this applies to virtually every market in the Bay Area. More affluent buyers – the demographic least affected by COVID-19, unemployment, and also having the greatest financial resources – have been jumping back into the market to a greater degree than other segments.

The first chart below illustrates the big rebound in buyer demand, as the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 rose much higher on a year-over-year basis. Of course, closed-sales volume – a lagging indicator – was hammered in Q2 by shelter-in-place.

The terrific rebound in higher-price home sales activity is illustrated in the charts below. This was certainly a factor in the jump in the median house sales price.

The inventory of listings for sale has climbed, but still remains lower than last year.

Two charts on median house sales price trends, the first quarterly (a new high in Q2), the second a longer-term view.

The Bay Area markets with the largest year-over-year increases in the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 were the 4 outer Bay Area counties of Monterey (up 61%), Santa Cruz (58%), Sonoma (47%) and Napa (37%). The inner Bay Area county with the highest y-o-y jump was Marin (26%). These 5 counties also have among the lowest population densities in the Bay Area. The more urban counties saw modest y-o-y increases: San Francisco (6%) and Alameda (7%).