Bay Area Home Sales Down, Prices Drop in November

December 21, 2001

La Jolla, CA--Last month's Bay Area home sales declined at their steepest pace since 1995. Prices declined for the second month in a row, also for the first time since 1995, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 6,644 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was down 15.5 percent from 7,867 for October, and down 27.2 percent from 9,122 for November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from October to November is normal for the season. The 27.2 percent drop in year-over-year sales counts was the steepest since April 1995 when 4,923 homes were sold, down 40.3 percent from 8,244 in April 1994. So far this year 83,915 homes have been sold in the Bay Area, down 18.2 percent from 102,545 for last year's January- to-November period.

"Today's numbers only look grim when compared to the year-ago numbers when the Bay Area was nearing the end of its frenzy. Today's market is actually much more 'normal' than it was a year or two ago," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $368,000 last month. That was up 0.5 percent from $366,000 in October, and down 4.3 percent from $380,000 for November a year ago. The last time year- over-year prices declined two months in a row was in March and April 1995. The median peaked at $386,000 last March.

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 home statewide was $236,000 in November. That was up 9.3 percent from $216,000 for November a year ago, DataQuick reported.

During the last five years, home prices statewide have increased 52.3 percent from $155,000 to $236s,000. The Bay Area median has increased 64.3 percent from $224,000 to last month's $368,000.

All Homes	No Sold Nov-00	No Sold Nov-01	Pct. Change	Median Nov-00	Median Nov-01	Pct. Change
Alameda	1,924	1,309	-32.0%	$368K	$352K	-4.3%
Contra Costa	1,890	1,464	-22.5%	$272K	$308K	13.2%
Marin	342	309	-9.6%	$549K	$513K	-6.6%
Napa	137	159	16.1%	$296K	$341K	15.2%
San Francisco	443	355	-19.9%	$516K	$492K	-4.7%
San Mateo	721	531	-26.4%	$485K	$490K	1.0%
Santa Clara	2,235	1,284	-42.6%	$473K	$421K	-11.0%
Solano	724	635	-12.3%	$218K	$247K	13.3%
Sonoma	704	598	-15.1%	$316K	$319K	0.9%
Bay Area	9,122	6,644	-27.2%	$380K	$368K	-3.2%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

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