DQNews Archived Article

San Francisco Bay Area Home Sales on the Rise

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
September, 1995

La Jolla, CA.—Bay Area home sales surged last month to their highest level in more than a year, according to a real estate information service.

A total of 5,349 resale houses were sold in the nine-county region in August. That was up 27.5 percent from 4,195 in July and up 7.8 percent from 4,964 for August last year (see chart), DataQuick Information Systems reported.

Last month's year-over-year increase in sales was the first of this year, and the sales count was the highest since June of last year when 6,113 resale houses were sold.

The perception among home buyers is that interest rates and prices are about as low as they're going to go. A lot of fence-sitters have been getting into the market, said Donald L. Cohn, DataQuick CEO.

The increase in sales was strongest in Santa Clara and San Francisco, while North Bay counties saw moderate declines.

The median price paid for a Bay Area resale house was $234,000 last month, down 0.4 percent from $235,000 in July and up 2.2 percent from $229,000 for August a year ago. A bottom of $220,000 was reached during the first quarter of this year.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

So far this year, 31,653 resale houses have been sold in the Bay Area, down 21.0 percent from 40,057 for the same period last year, DataQuick reported.

Single-family detached resales

	#Sold	% Chg.	Med($K)	% Chg.
	Aug-95	Aug-94	Aug-95	Aug-94
Alameda	1,027	4.70%	$203	2.50%
Contra Costa	995	7.50%	$216	0.50%
Marin	247	-5.00%	$340	0.30%
Napa	70	-10.30%	$175	-1.70%
San Francisco	328	17.10%	$254	-5.60%
San Mateo	530	7.10%	$308	1.00%
Santa Clara	1,336	15.80%	$256	6.20%
Solano	370	-3.90%	$141	-10.20%
Sonoma	446	10.10%	$199	4.70%
Bay Area	5,349	7.80%	$234	2.20%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

For more information call John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1995 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.