Bay Area house prices rocket to new records

Housing prices in the Bay Area jumped 14.7 percent from 2017 and hit a new peak of $820,000 in March 2018, according to data released today by housing research firm CoreLogic.

San Mateo County had the highest median sale price at $1.3 million, followed closely by San Francisco, Santa Clara and Marin counties, according to CoreLogic.

Solano County had the lowest median price at $425,000 while Sonoma and Contra Costa counties remained below $600,000.

Santa Clara County is currently seeing the highest rate of change in year-over-year estimates, according to CoreLogic. Median home prices jumped 33.6 percent from $898,000 in March 2017 to $1.2 million in March 2018.

Researchers said “jumbo loans,” which allow more expensive loans in high-cost areas, comprised 62.6 percent of all home purchases in March 2018.

In the last 30 years, the organization says home prices in the Bay Area have gone up by 39.8 percent. A total of 7,122 homes were sold in the Bay Area in March alone.