DQNews Archived Article

Bay Area Home Sales Up

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
April, 2000

La Jolla, CA.— Home sales in the Bay Area stayed strong in March as prices continued to rise, the result of a booming regional economy, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 6,830 resale houses were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 40.5 percent from 4,861 for February, and up 3.3 percent from 6,615 for March last year, according to DataQuick.

The increase from February to March is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the strongest for any March since 1989 when 7,539 resale houses were sold.

"It's too early to determine what effect the stock market's ups and downs will have on home sales. We know from experience that some buyers will put off purchasing decisions. We also know that some investors will move money from the turbulent stock market to real estate. We'll have a better idea of what's going on in a month or so," said Mike Ela, who heads up DataQuick.

The median price paid for a resale Bay Area house was $342,000 last month, another all-time high. The median was up 2.7 percent from February's $333,000, and up 15.2 percent from $297,000 for March last year.

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

Last month's 'typical' mortgage payment for the Bay Area, assuming 20 percent down and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, was $1,983. A year ago it was $1,509, and ten years ago it was $1,828, DataQuick reported.

Resale houses