Strong Bay Area Home Sales, Prices Steady in October

November 22, 2002

La Jolla, CA--October was a strong month for Bay Area home sales, the result of stable prices, steady demand and reasonable mortgage interest rates.

A total of 9,474 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 9.4 percent from 8,662 for September, and up 20.4 percent from 7,867 for October a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

So far this year 94,663 Bay Area homes have been sold, up 22.5 percent from 77,271 for the same ten-month period last year. In 1999 the January-to-October sales count was 100,003.

"Sales are strong in entry-level and mid-market neighborhoods. The sales pace for expensive homes has slowed a bit, which brings the median down, but there are indications that even there things are picking up somewhat," said John Karevoll, DataQuick analyst.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $408,000 last month. That was down 1.4 percent from $414,000 in September, and up 11.5 percent from $366,000 for October 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 $1,921 in October. A year ago it was $1,796. The peak was in May 2000 at $2,124.

All Homes	No Sold Oct-01	No Sold Oct-02	Pct. Chg	Median Oct-01	Median Oct-02	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,632	1,878	15.1%	$351K	$394K	12.3%
Contra Costa	1,652	2,168	31.2%	$303K	$352K	16.2%
Marin	314	327	4.1%	$457K	$578K	26.5%
Napa	179	195	8.9%	$329K	$378K	14.9%
San Francisco	392	518	32.1%	$490K	$537K	9.6%
San Mateo	635	711	12.0%	$484K	$521K	7.6%
Santa Clara	1,660	2,031	22.3%	$431K	$461K	7.0%
Solano	726	857	18.0%	$242K	$283K	16.9%
Sonoma	677	789	16.5%	$313K	$350K	11.8%
Bay Area	7,867	9,474	20.4%	$366K	$408K	11.5%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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