Bay Area Home Prices Edge Up in July

August 20, 2002

La Jolla, CA--Bay Area home sales and prices edged up again in July as a steady stream of buyers took advantage of affordable home financing and more homes on the market.

A total of 10,122 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 0.7 percent from 10,056 for June, and up 19.7 percent from 8,459 for July a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Home sales have been up every month this year on a year-over-year basis. The number sold so far this year is 66,888, up 26.2 percent from 53,001 for the same period last year. It is the highest total since 69,197 homes were sold during the first seven months of 1999.

"We expect more of the same in the months ahead, strong sales and moderate price increases. Some escrows may take a bit longer to close because of strong refinance activity putting pressure on the financing process," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $417,000 last month, a new record. That was up 0.2 percent from $416,000 in June, and up 9.2 percent from $382,000 for July 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 typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $2,008 in July. A year ago it was $1,992.

All Homes	No Sold Jul-01	No Sold Jul-02	Pct. Chg	Median Jul-01	Median Jul-02	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,760	2,102	19.4%	$371K	$402K	8.4%
Contra Costa	1,757	1,983	12.9%	$304K	$345K	13.5%
Marin	360	377	4.7%	$527K	$603K	14.4%
Napa	173	210	21.4%	$310K	$362K	16.8%
San Francisco	431	598	38.7%	$509K	$544K	6.9%
San Mateo	663	878	32.4%	$513K	$537K	4.7%
Santa Clara	1,781	2,154	20.9%	$459K	$476K	3.7%
Solano	744	854	14.8%	$239K	$265K	10.9%
Sonoma	790	966	22.3%	$316K	$353K	11.7%
Bay Area	8,459	10,122	19.7%	$382K	$417K	9.2%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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