East Bay luxury home sales declining

East Bay luxury home sales declined in September and prices edged lower as the high-end market showed signs of cooling off from its red-hot pace earlier this year.

The report was based on data from Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, using figures from its Multiple Listing Service of all homes sold for more than $1.5 million last month in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. It showed that a total of 97 luxury homes changed hands in September, down 15% percent from the 114 high-end sales in September 2015.

Sales last month were also off sharply from the previous month’s total of 130, although some of decline was due to a normal seasonal drop between August and September.

The upper end of the luxury market also saw a drop-off from a year ago with 29 homes selling for more than $2 million, down from 39 in September 2015, and four homes selling for more than $3 million, down from eight a year ago.

Meanwhile, the median sale price of a luxury home last month dipped 1.4% from a year ago, falling to $1,775,000. September’s median sale price was down fractionally from August as well.

“The East Bay’s luxury market continues to show signs of rebalancing from a seller’s market to a more balanced one as we move through the fall home buying season,” said Mike James, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

“Inventory levels are gradually increasing in some communities, but overall they are still below normal for this time of year,” James added. “Some sellers, and perhaps some buyers, may be holding off until after the first of the year to jump back into the market.”

Some key findings from this month’s Coldwell Banker’s report:

The most expensive sale in the East Bay last month was a seven-bedroom, five-bath approximately 5,600-square-foot home in Piedmont that sold for $4 million;

Danville and Fremont boasted the most luxury sales with 13, followed by Lafayette and Piedmont with nine each, and Pleasanton and Alamo with eight each;

Homes sold in an average of 49 days on the market, up from 32 days a year ago and 27 days the previous month;

Sellers received an average of 101% of their asking price, down from 102% a year ago and 104% the previous month.

The East Bay Luxury Housing Market Report is a monthly report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which has an office in Pleasanton and eight other East Bay cities.