Montara State Beach, Montara, CA

January home sales in the Bay Area followed the year-end December trend. We seem to be lost in the fog. Prices keep rising with a 26%+ increase on a year-over-year basis but sales volume dropped nearly 15% over the same time. (See the Bay Area price trends page above for the most recent data on housing.)

Yup… few sales, higher priced homes… lies, damn lies and statistics. Just as REO and short sales pushed median prices down deeply during the great recession, we now seem to have higher priced properties pushing the median up to a possibly statistically insignificant level. On top of that, the median price in the Bay Area peaked in July and it is now 7% off that high point and it has declined for the last two months.

Let’s wait for a couple of months before turning off the fog lamps and clicking on the hazard lights. Have you ever driven a motorcycle in fog so thick you can only see a few feet in front of you? No fun!