Home prices reached yearly peaks at some point in the third quarter in five of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions. As has been the case all this year, buyers continued to pay more than original prices for homes in the East Bay, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley.

Although almost all of our real estate markets still favor sellers, many saw modest increases in inventory from August to September, a hopeful sign for buyers who have been shut out of the action and are giving it another try this fall.

Pacific Union’s third-quarter 2014 report is packed with data and regional summaries that offer a complete look at real estate activity in the Bay Area and the Tahoe/Truckee region.

Our Q3 Report also includes a comprehensive chart tracking 10 years of home sales throughout the Bay Area and Tahoe/Truckee — 76 cities, towns, and neighborhoods in nine regions. A smaller version of that chart, showing regional totals, appears below. Click the link to view the chart which includes a 10 year comparison in volume and dollars.

http://docs.pacunion.com/2014q3/10year_monsterchart.pdf

SILICON VALLEY

Real estate activity zigzagged during the third quarter in Pacific Union’s Silicon Valley region, slowing to a crawl in July and August, then going gangbusters in early September before decelerating again. High-end markets such as Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Hillsborough, however, remained busy throughout the quarter.

The region has some of the most expensive homes in the nation, and in Menlo Park, no homes on the market were priced at less than $1 million. Across Silicon Valley, any property priced under $4 million sold briskly.

Home prices continued rising throughout the quarter, although not at the pace seen a year earlier. Multiple offers remained standard, though bidders weren’t as frantic as they were last year. Similarly, off-market sales, while still common, were not as rampant as in 2013. While a balanced market for both buyers and sellers remains a long way off in Silicon Valley, the region is slowly moving in that direction.

Looking Forward: Moderate activity is expected during the fourth quarter before sales slow during the year-end holiday season. Early indications suggest an increased supply of homes will hit the market during October, helping to drive sales in the months ahead.