DQNews Archived Article

Bay Area Home Sales

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
May, 1999

La Jolla, CA.— Sales counts and prices continued their upward march in the Bay Area in April, the result of low mortgage interest rates and a strong economy, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 7,849 resale houses were sold in the nine-county Bay Area in April. That was up 18.7 percent from 6,615 for March, and up 16.4 percent from 6,745 for April a year ago, according to DataQuick Products Division.

The current sales pace is the strongest of the 1990s, and this year's numbers are expected to start exceeding 1989 numbers later this summer.

"Even though prices are at an all-time high, because of the low interest rates buyers don't seem to be stretching their finances. Debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios are reasonable, and the use of adjustable-rate mortgages isn't very high," said Mike Ela, leader of DataQuick Products Division.

A typical mortgage payment for a median-priced Bay Area resale house would be $1,508 in today's market with today's mortgage interest rates. Because of higher interest rates, that typical payment peaked out at $1,828 in March 1990.

DataQuick Products Division monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The median price paid for a resale house was $292,000 in April. That was down 1.7 percent from $297,000 the previous month and up 7.4 percent from $272,000 for April last year. It's likely that the Bay Area median will edge past the $300,000 mark sometime this summer. The median for San Mateo County hit $405,000 in April, the highest ever for any county in California.

Resale Houses

	No Sold	No Sold	Pct.	Median	Median	Pct.
	Apr-98	Apr-99	Chng.	Apr-98	Apr-99	Chng.
Alameda	1,360	1,572	15.60%	$245K	$253K	3.30%
Contra Costa	1,229	1,368	11.30%	$219K	$229K	4.60%
Marin	350	424	21.10%	$385K	$386K	0.30%
Napa	110	145	31.80%	$183K	$195K	6.60%
San Francisco	353	431	22.10%	$340K	$365K	7.40%
San Mateo	597	729	22.10%	$356K	$405K	13.80%
Santa Clara	1,721	1,925	11.90%	$322K	$357K	10.90%
Solano	432	598	38.40%	$148K	$161K	8.80%
Sonoma	593	657	10.80%	$210K	$234K	11.40%
Bay Area	6,745	7,849	16.40%	$272K	$292K	7.40%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1999 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.

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