Bay Area Home Sales Down, Prices Leveling Off

June 25, 2001

La Jolla, CA--Bay Area home sales declined for the sixth month in a row as prices increased at their slowest pace in three years.

A total of 6,032 resale houses were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 15.8 percent from 5,208 in April and down 14.0 percent from 7,012 for May last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The May sales count was the highest since November and the April-to-May increase was unusually strong. Sales are dropping off most in expensive markets, while declines are less pronounced in lower cost markets. So far this year 24,998 resale houses have been sold, down 14.3 percent from 29,166 for the first five months of last year.

"We have to remember that for every home sold in the $750,000 range, there are four sold in the $300,000 range. Expensive homes have had a high profile and that market is shaky. Mid-market homes are doing just fine," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a resale Bay Area house was $389,000 last month. That was down 1.3 percent from April's $394,000 and up 5.1 percent from $370,000 for the same month a year ago, DataQuick reported.

The 5.1 percent year-over-year increase was the lowest since April 1998 when that month's median $272,000 was up 4.6 percent. The median price paid so far this year was $391,000, up 12.7 percent from $347,000 for January to May last year.

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 house statewide was $217,000, up 3.3 percent from $210,000 in April and up 8.5 percent from $200,000 for May a year ago, DataQuick reported.

Resale Houses

All Homes	No Sold May-00	No Sold May-01	Pct. Change	Median May-00	Median May-01	Pct. Change
Alameda	1,412	1,210	-14.3%	$320K	$358K	11.9%
Contra Costa	1,350	1,175	-13.0%	$274K	$300K	9.5%
Marin	291	220	-24.4%	$551K	$625K	13.4%
Napa	136	125	-8.1%	$255K	$314K	23.1%
San Francisco	359	301	-16.2%	$495K	$544K	9.9%
San Mateo	655	520	-20.6%	$541K	$537K	-0.7%
Santa Clara	1,577	1,325	-16.0%	$474K	$473K	-0.2%
Solano	641	597	-6.9%	$186K	$220K	18.3%
Sonoma	591	559	-5.4%	$299K	$329K	10.0%
Bay Area Total	7,012	6,032	-14.0%	$370K	$389K	5.1%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

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