Bay Area Home Sales Surge, Prices Jump in April

May 20, 2002

La Jolla, CA--Bay Area home sales surged last month back to their 1999 sales pace, while prices jumped to a new record.

A total of 10,768 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 3.4 percent from 10,416 for March, and up 49.7 percent from 7,193 for April a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the highest since August 2000 when 10,931 homes were sold. It was the strongest April since April 1999 when 11,092 homes were sold. Last month's year-over-year increase was the fourth in a row, prior to that there were thirteen months in a row of sales decreases.

"Last year's declines in Bay Area real estate were mostly a correction of the excesses of 1999 and 2000. Right now the market is back in balance and the region is seeing the same trends we're seeing in the rest of the state, near-record sales and rising home values," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $402,000 last month. That was up 5.5 percent from $381,000 in March, and up 6.3 percent from $378,000 for April a year ago. Last month's median was a record and was the first time the median exceeded the $400,000 mark. The previous peak was March 2001 at $386,000.

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 $2,045 in April. A year ago it was $1,965. The all-time high was May 2000 at $2,124 when interest rates were higher, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Apr-01	No Sold Apr-02	Pct. Chg	Median Apr-01	Median Apr-02	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,462	2,208	51.0%	$368K	$380K	3.3%
Contra Costa	1,555	2,115	36.0%	$293K	$330K	12.6%
Marin	288	429	49.0%	$598K	$577K	-3.5%
Napa	165	217	31.5%	$305K	$333K	9.2%
San Francisco	353	621	75.9%	$530K	$526K	-0.8%
San Mateo	530	937	76.8%	$498K	$528K	6.0%
Santa Clara	1,400	2,533	80.9%	$466K	$458K	-1.7%
Solano	731	876	19.8%	$241K	$250K	3.7%
Sonoma	715	832	16.4%	$307K	$327K	6.5%
Bay Area	7,193	10,768	49.7%	$378K	$402K	6.3%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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