Beacon Economics,
From the report:
Residential Real Estate
Even though home price appreciation has cooled considerably in the East Bay thus far in 2014, the housing market in the region remains relatively heated. The median price of existing single-family homes grew 17.7%, to $611,400, from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014 in Alameda County, while prices increased by 12.4%, to $451,000, in Contra Costa County. In comparison, prices rose by 13.6% in San Francisco and by 10.5% in the South Bay. Declines in distressed sales in the East Bay have contributed to the cool down, as the number of distressed properties sold at a discount has taken up a smaller share of the overall housing mix in the region. At the same time, demand for housing, which has been boosted by the continued relaxation of lending standards, historically low interest rates, and a gradually healing economy explains why the housing market has remained heated in 2014.