The Atherton real estate market, a portion of the larger Bay Area housing market, showed strong signs of recovery in the most recent tracking period. A number of reports, including analyses of median price and sales, all pointed towards strong growth. However, the possibility remains that the numbers may have been the product of the federal tax credit program. According to a June 17, 2010 article from the Los Angeles Times, “Fueled by federal tax credits and low interest rates, Bay Area sales took off in some of the region’s costlier neighborhoods last month, helping push the median home price there above $400,000 for the first time since the U.S. was gripped by the financial crisis 21 months ago. First-time buyers found fewer foreclosed homes for sale in the region last month, the San Diego real estate research firm MDA DataQuick said Thursday. The decline in bank-owned inventory helped the median sales price for all property types in the region hit $410,000, up 10.8% from April and 20.1% from May 2009, A total of 8,264 homes sold last month, an 18% jump from April and an increase of 11% from May 2009, DataQuick said. The surge in sales is probably due to buyers rushing to seal deals before a June 30 deadline to qualify for a federal tax incentive.”

An increasingly large number of high-end Atherton homes for sale were purchased in the month of May, reversing a year-ago trend that had low-end homes dominating the market. This shift also raises the possibility that the apparent recovery is not solely the product of the federal tax credit. According to a June 17, 2010 report from Business Week, “San Francisco Bay Area home prices jumped 20 percent in May, sending the median above $400,000 for the first time in almost two years, as high-end sales returned to a “more normal” share of transactions, MDA DataQuick said. The median price for houses and condominiums in the nine- county region increased to $410,000 from $341,500 a year earlier, the San Diego-based research company said today in a statement. Sales rose 11 percent to 8,264 homes.”

The San Bruno real estate market, a sector of the Bay Area housing marked directly adjacent to the main city of San Francisco, showed strong signs of improvement during the most recent tracking period. San Bruno homes for sale sold for higher median prices and at a faster rate as the higher-end housing market began to recover. According to a June 18, 2010 report from the San Francisco Chronicle, “Bay Area median prices for all home sales in May topped $400,000 for the first time in nearly two years, as the amount of real estate purchased in higher-end areas kept climbing, while sales of more affordable homes and foreclosures continued to fall, according to a report released Thursday. Meanwhile, May prices for resale single-family homes - that is, not newly constructed houses - also rose to $434,000, an 8 percent increase from April, according to data analyzed by MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm. Sales of homes for more than $500,000 jumped nearly 34 percent from May 2009, as lenders made larger loan amounts more available compared with a year ago. Mortgages above the conventional conforming limit of $417,000 - also known as jumbo loans - accounted for 35 percent of last month's purchases, up from 25.8 percent in May 2009 and 31.5 percent in April of this year. By contrast, May sales of homes priced below $300,000 fell nearly 23 percent below last year's level, when lower-end transactions and foreclosures were more robust.”

This rise in the median price of San Bruno homes for sale was largely the result of more high-end homes selling throughout the Bay Area. According to a June 28, 2010 report from the Mercury News, “Sales of mid-range to high-end homes rose across the Bay Area in May, pushing the median sale price for the region over $400,000 for the first time in 21 months. Tax credits, low mortgage rates and an ample supply of homes for sale boosted the $500,000-plus market, according to a real estate information service. A total of 8,264 homes closed escrow last month in the nine-county Bay Area, up 18 percent from April and up 11 percent from May 2009, according to MDA DataQuick. The sales tally was the highest for May since 9,935 homes sold in May 2006. Sales of homes priced over $500,000 rose 33.8 percent from the same period last year, while sales of homes priced below $300,000 fell nearly 22.7 percent below the year-ago level.”