New Price Peak for Bay Area Homes in March

April 22, 2003

La Jolla, CA.----While the sales pace for Bay Area homes has eased back from the hectic levels of recent years, prices for the region as a whole have continued to increase, reaching a new peak in March.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $419,000 last month. That was up 4.0 percent from $403,000 in February, and was up 10.0 percent from $381,000 for March last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

While prices dipped on a year-over-year basis in late 2001 and early 2002, they started increasing again in April last year. The median hit $417,000 in July.

"The strength of the Bay Area market has taken most forecasters by surprise. While the shaky economy has kept some potential buyers out of the market, low mortgage interest rates and more demand than supply keep generating activity," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

A total of 8,818 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 31.5 percent from 6,704 for February, and down 15.3 percent from 10,416 for March a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

An increase from February to March is normal for the season. The sales count for March a year ago was unusually high.

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 $1,870 in March. A year ago it was $1,943. The peak was in May 2000 at $2,124.

Bay Area home values have increased 95.8 percent during the last ten years. The increase for the state as a whole is 76.3 percent.

All Homes	No Sold Mar-02	No Sold Mar-03	Pct. Chg	Median Mar-02	Median Mar-03	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,188	1,879	-14.1%	$363K	$398K	9.6%
Contra Costa	2,107	1,808	-14.2%	$303K	$367K	21.1%
Marin	396	366	-7.6%	$538K	$590K	9.7%
Napa	232	156	-32.8%	$323K	$403K	24.8%
San Francisco	566	572	1.1%	$515K	$530K	2.9%
San Mateo	929	678	-27.0%	$503K	$537K	6.8%
Santa Clara	2,304	1,956	-15.1%	$441K	$448K	1.6%
Solano	856	715	-16.5%	$240K	$295K	22.9%
Sonoma	838	688	-17.9%	$316K	$358K	13.3%
Bay Area	10,416	8,818	-15.3%	$381K	$419K	10.0%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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