East Bay, Silicon Valley Home Values Rise the Most

Mortgage rates have ebbed and home prices have begun to tick up across parts of the Bay Area.

ZIP codes in the East Bay and Silicon Valley are showing some of the biggest rises in home values across the region, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing figures from Zillow for single-family homes, condominiums and small apartment buildings.

The most rapid rise is in Fremont in the East Bay, where quality schools, a suburban lifestyle and proximity to tech hubs has made it a popular home-buying destination.

Its 94538 ZIP, which includes the city’s Central District, had estimated home values jump to nearly $1.4 million in August, from less than $1.3 million in January, a 9 percent increase.

Downtown Fremont was followed by three other Fremont ZIPs, including 94536, up 8.6 percent to $1.5 million; 94539, up 8.3 percent to $2.2 million; and 94555, up 8.2 percent to $1.5 million.

Fremont was followed by 94560 in nearby Newark, where home values rose 8.1 percent to $1.3 million; Union City’s 94587, where values rose 7.6 percent to $1.3 million; and Santa Clara’s 95051, which rose 7.1 percent to $1.8 million.

Among the 15 Bay Area ZIPs where prices among 200 postal codes rose the fastest from January through August, San Jose had five, including 95132, which rose 7 percent to $1.6 million.

Livermore’s 94550, which rose 6.2 percent to $1.3 million; and Milpitas’ 95035, which rose 6 percent to $1.5 million, also made the top list, according to the Chronicle.

The Zillow estimates run counter to figures from the California Association of Realtors this month, which showed overall prices across the Bay Area fell for the first time in 13 months, led by lower interest rates and a higher number of homes on the market.

The median sale price of a single-family home in the nine-county region fell 1.6 percent to $1.24 million year-over-year, according to the real estate website.

The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen throughout the summer, hitting 6.09 percent in mid-September from a high of 7.22 percent in May, according to Freddie Mac. The Federal Reserve last week lowered interest rates by half a percentage point, its first cut in four years.

Not every Bay Area ZIP code saw home values increase, according to the Zillow data. Oakland’s typical home value continued its slow decline, to $762,000 in August from $772,000 in January.

Oakland’s 94612 ZIP, which includes Downtown, Uptown and Lakeside neighborhoods, has seen the steepest decrease in home values, falling 3.3 percent to $597,000 in August, from $618,000 in January.

It was followed by several other Oakland neighborhoods, including West Oakland’s 94607, which fell 2.4 percent to $588,000, followed by drops of nearly 2 percent in Oakland’s 94619, 94605 and 94602. In Piedmont, values fell 1.4 percent to $1.4 million.

San Francisco’s 94108, which includes parts of Chinatown and Nob Hill, had the third-largest drop in home values at 2.2 percent to $874,000; with 94103 falling 1.1 percent to $779,000.

— Dana Bartholomew