Bay Area home sales log rare dip

For the first time in months, the number of homes sold in the Bay Area has taken a dip, according to data released today by the research firm CoreLogic.

Home sales in the region dropped slightly last month, down 2.4 percent compared to sales in September and down 2.5 percent compared to sales in October 2014, according to CoreLogic.

Before the October decrease, home sales had risen year-over-year for seven months straight, beginning in March, CoreLogic officials said.

CoreLogic research analyst Andrew LePage said in a statement that the decline “could be the result of lower affordability and also a still-tight inventory of homes for sale.”

Sales have increased significantly in some parts of the Bay Area, most notably Contra Costa and Solano counties, which logged 13 and 20 percent year-over-year gains, respectively, for the first 10 months of 2015, compared to about 6 percent overall for the region, according to CoreLogic.

The median price paid for all homes sold in the Bay Area in October was $635,000. That number went up 0.8 percent from $630,000 in September and up 4.3 percent from October 2014’s median price of $608,750, according to CoreLogic.

The numbers for last month were 4.5 percent below the peak of $665,000, which was reached in June and July of 2007, CoreLogic officials said.

The three Bay Area counties with the most homes sold remained the same compared to September.

Santa Clara County saw the most home sales during October, with 1,688 homes sold. Contra Costa County came in second with 1,625 homes sold and Alameda County placed third with 1,541, according to CoreLogic’s data.