DQNews Archived Article

Bay Area Home Sales Drop

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
August, 2000

La Jolla, CA.— Bay Area home sales declined in July, the result of high prices, buyer resistance and tight inventory, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 6,323 resale houses were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 14.0 percent from 7,353 in June and down 22.3 percent from 8,133 for July a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The year-ago sales count was the highest DataQuick has on record. The company's statistice go back to 1988. Last month's drop was the steepest since May 1995 when the 4,088 sales count was down 24.4 percent on a year-over-year basis.

"There's really in our statistics indicating that buyers are getting desparate and stretching their finances thin like they did ten years ago. It looks like they're shaking their heads and walking away from high-priced homes," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a resale house in the Bay Area was $372,000 in July, another record. That was up 0.5 percent from $370,000 in June and up 20.0 percent from $310,000 for July last year.

DataQuick, now a business unit of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Resale houses