Bay Area Home Sales Up, Prices Flat

February 22, 2002

La Jolla, CA--Bay Area home sales shot up in January, ending a sixteen-month decline.

A total of 6,990 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was down 9.5 percent from 7,725 for December, and up 16.9 percent from 5,977 for January a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from December to January is normal for the season. The year-over-year increase was the first since August 2000. Last month's sales count was the highest for any January since 7,646 were sold in 1989.

"Several factors are at play. Reasonable interest rates. As well as the perception that the decline may be over and that prices aren't going to get much lower. A lot of potential buyers aren't sitting on the fence any more," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $371,000 last month. That was down 1.6 percent from $377,000 in December, and down 1.1 percent from $375,000 for December a year ago. The median peaked at $386,000 last March. The median since then has varied between $366,000 and $382,000.

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 typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,878 in January. A year ago it was $1,913. The all-time peak was May 2000 at $2,124, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Jan-01	No Sold Jan-02	Pct. Chg	Median Jan-01	Median Jan-02	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,311	1,478	12.7%	$352K	$358K	1.7%
Contra Costa	1,130	1,319	16.7%	$282K	$309K	9.6%
Marin	216	259	19.9%	$530K	$502K	-5.3%
Napa	111	163	46.8%	$301K	$309K	2.7%
San Francisco	297	375	26.3%	$488K	$497K	1.8%
San Mateo	463	581	25.5%	$547K	$478K	-12.6%
Santa Clara	1,345	1,635	21.6%	$471K	$426K	-9.6%
Solano	558	601	7.7%	$215K	$238K	10.7%
Sonoma	547	579	5.9%	$300K	$297K	-1.0%
Bay Area	5,977	6,990	16.9%	$375K	$371K	-1.1%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 2002 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.