Bay Area Home Sales Strong, Prices Up

March 26, 2001

La Jolla, CA -- While down from last year's record sales level, Bay Area home sales showed surprising strength in February as prices reached a new peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 4,102 resale houses were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was down 1.2 percent from 4,153 for January, and down 15.5 percent from 4,854 for February last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from January to February is normal for the season. The sales count last year was the strongest for any February on record for the Bay Area.

"We're watching for signs of the predicted downturn in the real estate market, but so far the numbers indicate more of a normalization than anything else. It could be that some investment money is being moved from the stock market into real estate. Bay Area homeowners are 'making' almost $6,000 just by owning a home right now," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a resale Bay Area house was $393,000 last month, a new record. That was up 1.6 percent from January's $387,000, and up 18.0 percent from $333,000 for February last year, DataQuick reported.

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.

Resale houses

All Homes	No Sold Feb-00	No Sold Feb-01	Pct. Change	Median Feb-00	Median Feb-01	Pct. Change
Alameda	935	811	-13.3%	$295K	$345K	16.9%
Contra Costa	916	759	-17.1%	$241K	$285K	18.3%
Marin	260	192	-26.2%	$525K	$636K	21.1%
Napa	88	86	-2.3%	$235K	$285K	21.3%
San Francisco	266	184	-30.8%	$420K	$524K	24.8%
San Mateo	455	323	-29.0%	$435K	$600K	37.9%
Santa Clara	1,097	921	-16.0%	$430K	$497K	15.6%
Solano	392	389	-0.8%	$170K	$213K	25.3%
Sonoma	445	437	-1.8%	$262K	$319K	21.8%
Bay Area Total	4,854	4,102	-15.5%	$333K	$393K	18.0%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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