Lamorinda Real Estate Market Trends November 2020 Report

The long-term median sales price chart below is similar to those for markets around the Bay Area – a very significant spike in median house prices since the pandemic struck in early spring.

As mentioned before, recent jumps in median house prices have been driven not only by appreciation in fair market values, but by large increases in expensive home sales. Affluent buyers have made up a significantly larger percentage of Bay Area home purchases since the pandemic hit.

Lamorinda House Sales Breakdown

Listings Accepting Offers by Month

The market typically starts a big slowdown in mid-November, running through the mid-winter holidays, until it begins to wake up sometime in January. Higher-price segments normally see the most dramatic plunges in activity.

This year, the pandemic upended seasonality: Spring, usually the strongest selling season, saw a crash in activity; summer, which typically slows down – especially for luxury home sales – saw solid demand well above previous years, particularly at the high end. And in October, the number of listings going into contract hit a multi-year high.

We suspect late Q4 will see something of a slowdown, but remain more active than in past years.

Luxury Home Listings Accepting Offers

Comparing Demand across Bay Area Counties

Prices & Market Dynamics by City

Following is a series analyses that look at city median house sales prices, luxury home sales, listings for sale, and a few standard measurements of supply and demand. Note that very expensive homes often see softer dynamics – the pool of buyers is much smaller, and overpricing more common for these very special properties – but this is not always the case.

Regarding the next chart: Percentages of 50% or more would typically be considered to reflect a high-demand market. Over 60% signifies very high demand, or as it climbs, extremely high demand. As mentioned before, very high price markets often, but not always, see softer supply and demand indicators.