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The Brief
California's median home price rose from a year ago to $861,020.
In the Bay Area, the median was $1.2 million.
Contra Costa County saw a surge in its median; Napa County's median fell.
LOS ANGELES - New figures show the median home price in California increased last year, and in the Bay Area, there was a tale of two counties, with one seeing a price surge, while another saw a decline.
Big picture view
The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R) found sales in higher-priced markets, many of those in the Bay Area, continued to have an impact on the overall growth in statewide prices.
Last month, California's median price for an existing, single-family home was $861,020. That's an increase of 5% increase from a year ago.
Local perspective
In the Bay Area, it was $1.2 million, following a modest increase of 1.5%.
Among the region’s nine counties, Contra Costa saw the largest jump-- an increase of 9.4% from a year ago, bringing the median to $875,000.
On the other end, Napa County saw a decline in its median, which fell almost 5% to $880,000.
"The increase in sales in the lower price segment in Napa might have pulled down the county’s median price and resulted in a year-over-year decline," C.A.R. economist Oscar Wei explained.
Dig deeper
Analysts said that while both counties saw double-digit increases in the number of homes sold, those sold in the more affordable segment were a bit higher in Napa County than in Contra Costa County.
Wei said that most of the sales gain in Contra Costa County last month was from Danville, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek. With increases of 88%, 50%, and 25% respectively.
"All have a median price of over $1.5M," Wei said.
In Napa County, most of the homes sold came from American Canyon, which saw sales go up 400%, and in Napa, where it was almost 30%.
"Both cities had a median price under $900K," Wei noted.
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By the numbers
Across the region, San Mateo County had the highest median at more than $1.84 million, up 2.5% from a year ago.
Santa Clara County followed, with a median of $1.81 million, and Marin County had the third highest at about $1.56 million.
Solano County had the Bay Area's lowest median price at $570,000.
Figures also show that along with a rise in prices, home sales were up both in California and in the Bay Area from a year ago.
Along with its drop in home prices, Napa County also saw a surge in home sales of almost 50%, the largest in the Bay Area.
What's next
C.A.R Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine said both sales and prices were expected to continue to see upward movement in the coming year, though many variables could have an impact.
"Stickier-than-expected inflation, the ongoing insurance crisis, and policy changes under the new White House administration are some of the hurdles that could present challenges for the market in the upcoming year," Levine said.
The real estate group also noted high mortgage rates and the devastating wildfires in Southern California will likely lead to a slow start to the year, though demand was expected to pick up when the spring home-buying season gets underway.
Here are Bay Area median home prices by county:
Alameda $1,180,000 0.4%
Contra Costa $875,000 9.4%
Marin $1,558,000 0.2%
Napa $880,000 -4.9%
San Francisco $1,530,000 5.5%
San Mateo $1,844,500 2.5%
Santa Clara $1,810,000 4.9%
Solano $570,000 1.4%
Sonoma $859,500 5.7%
This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.
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