Bay Area Home Sales Down, Prices Up

April 25, 2001

La Jolla, CA --Home sales in the Bay Area continued to drop off from last year's near record levels as prices continued to edge upward, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 5,503 resale houses were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 34.2 percent from 4,102 for February, and down 19.1 percent from 6,803 for March last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

An increase from February to March is normal for the season. The sales count a year ago made it the second highest March ever, a "normal" March is around 5,250.

"The Bay Area market is normalizing, clearly coming down from last year's frenzy. Aside from the regular month-to-month ups and down, we don't really expect prices to decline, although we do anticipate lower rates of appreciation," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a resale Bay Area house was $394,000 last month, a new record. That was up 0.3 percent from February's $393,000, and up 15.2 percent from $342,000 for March last year, DataQuick reported.

The 15.2 percent increase was the lowest in a year, in March 2000 prices went up 14.8 percent. In October last year the median reached $385,000, up 26.2 percent from $305,000 a year earlier.

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 March-00	No Sold March-01	Pct. Change	Median March-00	Median March-01	Pct. Change
Alameda	1,278	1,061	-17.0%	$299K	$357K	19.4%
Contra Costa	1,244	1,018	-18.2%	$244K	$298K	22.1%
Marin	383	261	-31.9%	$475K	$600K	26.3%
Napa	107	121	13.1%	$220K	$275K	25.0%
San Francisco	335	271	-19.1%	$430K	$543K	26.3%
San Mateo	622	473	-24.0%	$470K	$554K	17.9%
Santa Clara	1,601	1,187	-25.9%	$455K	$500K	9.9%
Solano	602	563	-6.5%	$173K	$210K	21.4%
Sonoma	631	548	-13.2%	$267K	$320K	19.9%
Bay Area Total	6,803	5,503	-19.1%	$342K	$394K	15.2%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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