By Bay City News Service
In August the Bay Area saw home sales continuing to rise, with the strongest sales for the month of August recorded in six years, according to a real estate report released today.
The median cost of a Martinez home, however, fell slightly compared to last year. That figure mirrors the Bay Area trend.
In Martinez, the average home price in July was $309,200, down 0.8 percent from last year. Average home prices rose in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Lafayette, and were down in Concord, according to the website Zillow.
In the nine Bay Area counties, 8,579 homes were sold last month, up 1.4 percent from 8,461 the month prior and up 14 percent from August 2011, according to figures from the real estate information service DataQuick.
A sales increase is normal between July and August, according to the report. Since 1988 the average number of August home sales is 9,638, according to DataQuick.
Median sale prices in all Bay Area counties also increased in the past year, with Contra Costa County coming in with the biggest price jump at 15.2 percent up from last August.
In that county, the median price was $260,500 in August 2011 and jumped to $300,000 this August, according to DataQuick.
Overall in the Bay Area, median home prices increased 10.8 percent from $370,000 to $410,000 this year.
The highest home prices can be found in San Francisco with median sales at $700,000, while the lowest are in Solano County at $190,000.
