Bay Area Home Sales and Prices Steady in September

October 18, 2002

La Jolla, CA--Home sales trends in the Bay Area remained relatively unchanged last month, the result of steady demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 8,662 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was down 10.1 percent from 9,639 for August, and up 20.3 percent from 7,201 for September a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

A decline from August to September is normal for the season. So far this year 85,189 Bay Area homes have been sold, up 22.7 percent from 69,404 for the same nine-month period last year. In 1999 the January-to-September sales count was 90,207.

"Right now there are no indications that the market is going to turn one way or the other in the near future. We expect current trends to remain in place through the end of this year and on into 2003," said Mike Ela, DataQuick's president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $414,000 last month. That was down 0.7 percent from $417,000 in August, and up 10.7 percent from $374,000 for September 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 $1,930 in September. A year ago it was $1,880. The peak was in May 2000 at $2,124.

All Homes	No Sold Sep-01	No Sold Sep-02	Pct. Chg	Median Sep-01	Median Sep-02	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,478	1,754	18.7%	$356K	$405K	13.8%
Contra Costa	1,588	1,798	13.2%	$311K	$351K	12.9%
Marin	251	345	37.5%	$526K	$577K	9.7%
Napa	154	209	35.7%	$327K	$368K	12.5%
San Francisco	353	487	38.0%	$499K	$534K	7.0%
San Mateo	554	661	19.3%	$494K	$547K	10.7%
Santa Clara	1,613	1,837	13.9%	$439K	$463K	5.5%
Solano	613	768	25.3%	$243K	$276K	13.6%
Sonoma	597	803	34.5%	$304K	$349K	14.8%
Bay Area	7,201	8,662	20.3%	$374K	$414K	10.7%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 2002 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.