Bay Area Home Sales Drop

January 25, 2001

La Jolla, CA.-Bay Area home sales declined in December, the result of sticker shock and economic uncertainty as potential buyers either put purchase plans on hold, or bought elsewhere, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 5,490 resale houses were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 12.2 percent from 6,252 for the month before, and down 13.1 percent from 6,319 for December last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from November to December is unusual. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any December since 1996 when 4,695 resale houses were sold.

"Most analysts thought this drop-off in sales and a leveling off of prices was going to happen earlier. This is Economics 101. Prices have been going up faster than the homebuyer's ability to pay, so the buyers go elsewhere or don't buy at all," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

Sales in the Sacramento area are up around 30 percent compared to last year, in San Joaquin County they are up 50 percent.

DataQuick, a subsidiary 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.

The median price paid for a resale Bay Area house was $374,000. That was down 4.1 percent from November's record $390,000, and up 17.2 percent from $319,000 for December last year. The year-over-year increase was the lowest since 14.8 percent in March. There are no indications that prices will decline on a year-over-year basis any time soon, DataQuick reported.

Resale houses

All Homes	No Sold Dec-99	No Sold Dec-00	Pct. Change	Median Dec-99	Median Dec-00	Pct. Change
Alameda	1,207	1,135	-6.0%	$285K	$350K	22.8%
Contra Costa	1,151	1,113	-3.3%	$225K	$270K	20.0%
Marin	340	179	-47.4%	$445K	$550K	23.6%
Napa	114	128	12.0%	$255K	$283K	11.0%
San Francisco	379	267	-29.6%	$420K	$525K	25.0%
San Mateo	627	475	-24.2%	$425K	$524K	23.3%
Santa Clara	1,420	1,193	-16.0%	$411K	$485K	18.0%
Solano	503	495	-1.6%	$164K	$194K	18.3%
Sonoma	578	506	-12.5%	$245K	$310K	26.5%
Bay Area Total	6,319	5,490	-13.1%	$319K	$374K	17.2%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

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

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