Home prices' slow ascent in Bay Area

Bay Area home sales fell to their lowest level in seven years in February while prices rose only modestly, compared to a year ago, a real estate data firm reported Wednesday.

Buyers purchased 4,376 houses and condos last month in the nine-county region, down 10.9 percent from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic DataQuick. It was the lowest total for a February since 2008.

The median price for February was $565,000, a decrease of 1.2 percent from January but an increase of 4.6 percent from a year earlier. The year-over-year gain marked the smallest annual increase for any month since the median price began rising, year over year, in April 2012.

CoreLogic DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage noted that the supply of available homes for sale remains constrained.

“It’s also clear the mortgage market remains off-kilter,” Le-Page said in a statement. “Home loans are readily available for those who have good credit, a W-2 income and who are applying for a government-backed mortgage. But it can still be challenging for others, such as the self-employed and retired, even for those with a high income or significant assets, or both.”

Meanwhile, Truckee-based PropertyRadar reported that California home sales last month also fell to their lowest level in seven years.

The real estate data company said buyers purchased 23,404 homes and condominiums last month, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier. The median price rose to $375,000, an increase of 1.6 percent from January and 6.5 percent from a year earlier.

“The increase in median prices in February usually points to higher prices in spring,” said Madeline Schnapp, the company’s director of economic research. “While the warm winter weather is the likely culprit, we can’t rule out other positive economic forces like robust job growth throughout 2014. Time will tell.”