Luxury home sales jump 33% in area

Luxury-priced homes sold at a 33 percent greater clip in seven Northern California counties in 2005 than in 2004, according to a new study by Alain Pinel Realtors, one of the largest privately-owned residential real estate companies in the country.

Alain Pinel Realtors, based in Saratoga, measured previously occupied home sales priced at $2.5 million or greater in comparing last year with 2004.

During 2005, 733 homes sold at $2.5 million or more in the seven counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa, compared with the 552 that sold in 2004 at that price or greater.

Three counties -- Monterey, San Mateo and Alameda -- showed gains in the median price of homes sold above $2.5 million while three counties, Santa Cruz, Contra Costa and San Francisco, experienced declines in the median price of homes sold at this level. Santa Clara County was even on a year-to-year basis, with the median sale price for both 2004 and 2005 at $3 million, according to the study.

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