Merced, Mariposa home prices rising at faster clip than regional neighbors

Merced homes have some of the fastest increasing prices in the state, according to new figures reported by the California Association of Realtors.

The median home in Merced was priced at $229,500 in March, a 24.1 percent increase from the same time last year, according to a report released Friday.

The jump in prices far outweighs any other county in the San Joaquin Valley with the next closest coming from San Joaquin County, where the median home was priced 8.5 percent higher this year at $320,000.

Merced’s housing prices are sensitive to the city’s lack of houses on the market and the growth of UC Merced, according to Phillip May, a real estate agent with London Properties.

“Those two things fuel (prices) to keep going,” he said.

May said he has no doubt prices have been rising, but said 24.1 percent sounded high. All of the other San Joaquin counties saw improvements in the single digits.

The California Association of Realtors median price and sales data are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of real estate agents throughout the state, and represent statistics of existing single-family detached homes, according to the report.

UC Merced plans a $1.3 billion project to expand campus space, an economic driver often cited by local leaders.

Prices are rising in the foothills as well, according to the statewide association. In Mariposa County, the average home sold for $285,000 in March, an increase of 25.3 percent from the same time last.

The housing market in smaller foothill communities is different from metropolitan cities, but a low house inventory is an issue there as well, according to Patti Radanovich-Sousa, president of the Merced County Board of Realtors.

“Mariposa is always a little bit behind everybody,” she said. “There’s only so many homes in Mariposa.”

The price of homes has not quite risen enough to create a seller’s market, the real estate agent with Sierra Foothill Homes said.

March’s statewide median home price was $517,020, up 6.8 percent from March 2016, the association reported. There were 416,580 single-family homes sold in California last month.

High demand and not enough houses on the market is common around the state according to Geoff McIntosh, president of the association.

“March’s solid sales performance was likely influenced by the specter of higher interest rates, which may have pushed buyers off the sidelines and close escrow before rates moved higher,” he said on Monday. “The strong housing demand, coupled with a shortage of available homes for sale, is pushing prices higher as would-be buyers try to purchase before affordability gets worse.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Merced, Mariposa home prices rising at faster clip than regional neighbors."