Marin Home Sales Rise in April as Median Price Nears $800K

What Marin home buyers have known for months is bearing out in data, as a real estate information service reported Wednesday that both the number of homes sold and the median price for which they sold in Marin rose by double-digit percentages in April.

Marin’s median home price rose in April was $799,000, a more than 29 percent rise from $618,000 in April 2012 and a nearly 8 percent jump from $740,000 in March, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

That trend was felt across the nine-county Bay Area, where the median price rose to $510,000 in April, up 17 percent from $436,000 in March – the highest month-to-month spike recorded by DataQuick since 1988 – and up nearly 31 percent from $390,000 in April a year ago, DataQuick reported.

Even as prices have continued to rise, the number of homes sold has done the same in Marin. In April, 345 homes were sold, up more than 18 percent from 292 a year ago and nearly 12 percent from 309 in March.

DataQuick officials cited the rise in sales and prices on pent-up demand, an improving economy, investor activity, low mortgage interest rates and constrained supply, as well as a continued decline in distressed sales.

“There’s somewhat of a perfect storm here, statistically speaking,” DataQuick president John Walsh said in a statement. “The pent-up demand, the economy, interest rates, investor buying. Everything is in alignment right now, but that won’t always be the case. Also, it’s easier to regain lost ground. A major element to watch for between now and fall is how many homes are put on the market at these higher price points.”

The Bay Area's median sale price first passed the $500,000 threshold in May 2004, holding well above that level for four years and going as high as $665,000, then dropping below $500,000 in June 2008 as home prices tumbled and dipping as low as $290,000 in March 2009.

Investors and all-cash buyers continued to hold a major presence in the Bay Area market, as absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased 24.2 percent of all Bay Area homes. Buyers who appear to have paid all cash – meaning no sign of a corresponding purchase loan was found in the public record – accounted for 27.8 percent of sales in April.