SANTA CRUZ >> Local home prices set records in April as sales momentum slowed.

The median price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County was $830,000, topping the mark of $827,000 in August, and increasing from $775,000 a year ago, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers.

This is the first time the median price — the midpoint of what sold during the month — has exceeded $800,000 for six straight months, he said.

In April, 130 homes changed hands, down 18 percent from a year ago.

Homes that fetched more than $1 million made up 26 percent of sales, which is the smallest percentage since October, when 25 percent of sales were for more than $1 million.

The median price for condos and town homes set a record, too, at $615,000.

There were 37 sales, down from 42 a year ago.

Higher prices have encouraged sellers to set their sights higher.

On Tuesday, the Redfin.com real estate site, listed 15 homes in Santa Cruz County with an asking price of $5 million and more and 64 homes priced at $2 million and more.

The priciest property in the county is the Crest Apartments, 19 units at 101 Grand Ave., on the cliff in Capitola overlooking the ocean, with an asking price of $17 million.

The owners inquired in 2015 about converting apartments to condos, but a city ordinance prohibits that, according to Rich Grunow, Capitola’s community development director.

Rising home prices and fewer home sales are trends seen in April in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

The median price was $895,490 and sales dipped 4 percent.

In Santa Clara County, the median price was $1.16 million. Sales fell by 9 percent.

Leslie Appleton-Young, senior vice president and chief economist of the California Association of Realtors, said, “Yearly price gains will most likely persist through the remainder of the home-buying season, further exacerbating an already-low housing affordability situation.”

With interest rates expected to increase sometime after July, that could crimp home sales, she pointed out.

One factor driving prices up is the scarcity of homes on the market.

As of the first week in May, there were 419 listings in Santa Cruz County, down from 470 a year ago and 504 the year before, according to Gangnes.

Subtracting the listings under contract left 297 active, with only 149 homes less than $1 million, out of reach for many would-be buyers.

Buying a condo at the median price of $615,000 would require a down payment of $123,000 and a monthly payment of $3,475 with a loan at 3.83 percent interest for a 30-year mortgage, according to Redfin’s mortgage calculator.

Entry-level homes don’t pencil out for developers, particularly in coastal areas with the greatest housing shortage, according to analysts from HomeUnion, an online real estate investment management firm.

Longtime Santa Cruz agent Tom Brezsny, with Sereno Group, has been writing about longtime owners reluctant to sell in this market, but a number of longtime owners took the plunge in April.

A three-bedroom home at 409 Nobel Drive, Santa Cruz, near UC Santa Cruz, on the market for the first time in four decades, sold for $905,000.

A four-bedroom home at 208 Sidesaddle Circle in Scotts Valley, on the market for the first time since 1995, sold for $821,000, more than the asking price of $789,000.

Not all sellers got their asking price, however.

A four-bedroom home at 3020 Pleasure Point Drive, with panoramic ocean views, listed at $5 million, sold for $4.8 million.

April 2017 statistics

Single-family homes

Median price: $830,000 ($775,500 a year ago; $755,000 in 2015; $625,750 in 2014; $640,000 in 2013; $479,600 in 2012; $445,000 in 2011)

Listings: 419 (470 a year ago; 504 in 2015; 571 in 2014; 624 in 2013; 798 in 2012; 912 in 2011)

Number of sales: 130 (158 a year ago; 177 in 2015; 154 in 2014; 143 a year in 2013; 155 in 2012; 139 in 2011)

Average price: $956,211 ($881,927 a year ago)

Condos

Median price: $615,000 ($564,000 a year ago; $405,000 in 2015; $424,000 in 2014; $345,000 in 2013; $298,000 in 2012; $292,500 in 2011)

Listings: 82 (101 a year ago; 121 in 2015; 126 in 2014; 182 in 2013; 246 in 2012; 281 in 2011)

Number of sales: 37 (42 a year ago; 33 in 2015; 49 in 2014; 42 in 2013; 45 in 2012; 35 in 2011)

Average price: $629,899 ($583,097 a year ago)

SOURCE: Real Options Realty

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

City of Santa Cruz

208 Washburn Ave., $760,000

144 San Juan Ave., $800,000

193 Suburbia Court, $830,000

1302 Delaware Ave., $895,000

409 Nobel Drive, $905,000

Santa Cruz County

219 Altivo Ave., La Selva Beach, $819,000

208 Sidesaddle Circle, Scotts Valley, $821,000

750 Noteware Drive, Ben Lomond, $830,000

1866 Silvana Lane, Live Oak, $840,000

233 Hillhouse Road, Boulder Creek, $840,000

Lowest

9456 E. Zayante Road, Lompico, $250,000

620 Bronte Ave., Watysonville, $315,000

2165 Upper Scenic. Felton, $339,000

708 Almond Drive, Watsonville, $397,500

769 Old San Jose Road, Soquel, $400,000

Highest

25265 Terrace Grove Road, Los Gatos, $2.25M

606 Pelton Ave., Santa Cruz, $2.295M

1242 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, $2.57M

106 Manor Ave., Santa Cruz, $2.6M

3020 Pleasure Point Drive, Pleasure Point, $4.8M

Source: Real Options Realty