DQNews Archived Article

Bay Area home sales

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
December, 1997

La Jolla, CA.— Bay Area home sales continued at the strongest level of the decade in November, while price increases were in the double digit range for the third month in a row, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 4,890 resale houses were sold in the nine-county Bay Area in November. That was down 22.8 percent from 6,338 for October and up 10.5 percent from 4,425 for November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The decline from October to November is normal for the season. The year-over-year increase was the fourteenth in a row. So far this year 59,824 resale houses have been sold, the most for any year of the 1990s, even before December sales are counted.

"Sales counts are high, but not out of line for a regional economy as strong as the Bay Area's. The current jump in prices is part of a pattern we've seen before with statistical spikes and plateaus. We expect price increases to continue, but not necessarily this fast," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The resale house median was $260,000 in November, up 1.2 percent from $257,000 for October and up 13.5 percent from $229,000 for November last year. That was the biggest year-over-year jump of the decade and the third double-digit increase in a row. The year-over-year price increase was 10.2 percent in September and 11.3 percent in October.

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

The median square-foot price for resale houses was $167 in November, up 7.1 percent from $156 a year ago. The year-over-year rise in square-foot median was strongest in Santa Clara County where it went up 15.2 percent from $178 to $205.

Resale houses

	No Sold	No Sold	Pct.	Median	Median	Pct.
	Nov-96	Nov-97	Chng.	Nov-96	Nov-97	Chng.
Alameda	863	956	10.8%	$207K	$230K	11.1%
Contra Costa	756	851	12.6%	$197K	$210K	6.6%
Marin	199	242	21.6%	$343K	$349K	1.7%
Napa	70	100	42.9%	$175K	$180K	2.9%
San Francisco	283	326	15.2%	$270K	$307K	13.7%
San Mateo	528	531	0.6%	$285K	$339K	18.9%
Santa Clara	1,031	1,160	12.5%	$259K	$311K	20.1%
Solano	300	304	1.3%	$138K	$147K	6.5%
Sonoma	395	420	6.3%	$185K	$199K	7.6%
Bay Area Total	4,425	4,890	10.5%	$229K	$260K	13.5%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1997 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.

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