The median sold price of a single-family home in Contra Costa County rose 3.5 percent in August compared to a year ago to reach $672,750, the California Association of Realtors reports. The price also was up 1.9 percent in August compared to July. This parallels the statewide trend in which the August median home price in the state was up 1.5 percent from July and 3.6 percent from a year ago, now standing at $617,410.
“Low interest rates, which helped to reduce monthly mortgage payments, have provided much needed support to improve housing affordability and elevate home sales over the past few months,” explained CAR Chief Economics Leslie Appleton-Young. “While lower rates have no doubt boosted buyers’ purchasing power, they have also been a contributing factor to higher home prices this year.”
At the regional level, median home prices in Southern California, the Central Valley and Central Coast continued to inch up while prices in the Bay Area declined slightly from a year ago. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home in California increased from 21 days in July to 23 days in August. Comparatively, last August the days a home spent on the market was 21.