East Bay Housing Market Trends for 2020: End of Year Summary

The red-hot East Bay real estate market, including Contra Costa and Alameda counties, continues to sizzle at the start of 2021. Home sales and prices have both risen significantly over the past year, and some forecasts predict more of the same in 2021.

Here’s a look back at East Bay housing market trends during 2020, and a look ahead at what we might see in 2021.

Summary of East Bay Housing Market Trends in 2020

On January 15, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) published a housing market update for the entire state. It also drilled down to individual counties, revealing important trends such as home-price growth, sales activity, and inventory levels.

According to that report, the East Bay housing market experienced a significant increase in both home sales and prices during 2020.

Let’s start with a look back at home price trends for the East Bay micro-region.

• Contra Costa: According to C.A.R., the median sale price for existing single-family homes in Contra Costa County rose by 14.7% in 2020. That’s when measured from December 2019 to December 2020.
• Alameda: During that same 12-month period, the median sale price for single-family homes sold in Alameda County rose by a whopping 20.2%. That was the largest year-over-year increase of all nine Bay Area counties.

While home prices have risen across most of the region, the East Bay real estate market in particular shows continued strength. Contra Costa and Alameda have outpaced the other seven counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, in terms of annual home-price growth.

Home sales also rose sharply during 2020, especially in the East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa. According to the January C.A.R. report, sales rose by 44.5% and 52.4% in those two counties, respectively. Keep in mind this occurred during a global pandemic.

Low Inventory and Quick Sales

As far as transactions go, East Bay real estate market trends for 2020 can be summed up with five words: Low inventory and quick sales.

At the end of 2020, Alameda and Contra Costa County both had less than a one-month supply of homes for sale. In fact, they had the lowest housing inventory levels of any county in the entire state.

Because of this, homes are selling fast within the East Bay housing market. In December 2020, properties listed for sale in Alameda and Contra Costa counties sold in a median of nine or eight days (respectively). That was well below the statewide median.

The bottom line is that these two real estate markets will probably remain highly competitive and fast-moving, going into 2021. Home buyers should pay close attention to these trends.

Broader Bay Area Is Also Hot

In 2021, the East Bay real estate market will get a boost from strong demand and low inventory. But those trends aren’t limited to this one area. The broader San Francisco Bay Area is also performing well.

In fact, if you looked at recent housing market trends across the Bay Area (and nothing else), you might not know there was a pandemic still going on.

According to the research team at C.A.R.:

“At the regional level, sales increased by double-digits in all major regions in December, with a year-over-year gain of over 20 percent for each region, except the Central Coast region. The San Francisco Bay Area remained on top with the highest gain of 40.2 percent over last year…”

Statewide Housing Market Trends for California

The C.A.R. report mentioned above also contained an infographic with key real estate trends for California, as of December 2020. This shows where we were at the start of 2021, in terms of housing market trends and activity.

As you can see, 2020 was a strong year for the California real estate market. Surprisingly strong, when you consider that we were enduring a health and economic crisis for much of that year.

Last year, home sales across the state experienced the largest year-over-year increase since 2009. Instead of hampering sales during 2020, the coronavirus pandemic actually fueled them by giving people an incentive to buy. Many of those buyers were seeking more space, home offices for remote work, less population density, etc.

This graphic also shows how the median sale price for single-family homes in California hit a record high in December, climbing to $717,930.

Looking Ahead to 2021

So there you have it: a roundup of East Bay housing market trends during 2020. As for 2021, we can probably expect more of the same in terms of home-price appreciation and sales activity.

Mortgage rates are expected to hover within their current (and historically low) range for the next few months. But we could see a gradual increase later this year. Low rates have been motivating home buyers and giving the East Bay real estate market a boost. And we should see more of that through the first quarter of 2021.