The housing market continues to heat up in the East Bay.
Home prices rose again in April as did the number of building permits being issued by cities. In addition, foreclosures are on the decline.
The website DataQuick reports the median price for all types of dwellings in the Bay Area was above $500,000 for the first time since 2008. That’s a 17 percent increase since March and a 30 percent hike from a year ago.
In Alameda County, the median sale price is now $510,000, a 36 percent increase from April 2012.
In Contra Costa County, the median sale price is $412,000, up from about $300,000 a year ago.
In Alameda, the median sales price in March was between $428,000 and $462,000, depending on which zip code a house was in. Prices in the 94502 zip code were up 18 percent while 94501 prices were down 8 percent compared to a year ago.
Due to a lack of inventory, home sales have declined. In Alameda County, they were down 3 percent from a year. In Contra Costa County, the decline was 4 percent.
In Alameda, there were 35 homes sold in March, a slight decrease from March 2012.
Meanwhile, RealtyTrac reports the number of single-family building permits nationwide increased 27 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to the highest level since 2008.
At the same, the number of foreclosure starts nationwide declined 27 percent to their lowest level since 2006.
In fact, the number of building permits issued and foreclosure starts were roughly the same for the first time since 2007.
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