Brisk Bay Area Home Sales

June 19, 2003

La Jolla, CA.--Home sales in the Bay Area continued at a healthy pace last month, the result of affordable mortgage interest rates and steady demand. Prices edged up to a new peak.

A total of 10,603 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month, the highest sales count in a year. Last month was up 6.0 percent from 10,004 for April, and down 5.7 percent from 11,238 for May a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

May sales counts have ranged in recent years from 5,779 in 1995 to 11,526 in 1989.

"We expect current sales levels to continue on through the summer and into the fall. They may edge up a bit if the surge in refinancing activity levels off. Right now lending institutions, title companies, escrow companies and appraisers are pretty tapped out and closing times have been stretched out," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $427,000 last month, a new high. That was up 0.2 percent from $426,000 in April, and was up 3.4 percent from $413,000 for May last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

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. Because of some gaps in data availability, the sales counts for several counties are extrapolated.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,839 in May. A year ago it was $2,076. The peak was in May 2000 at $2,124.

Indicators of market distress are still absent. Foreclosure rates are low, flipping rates are low, adjustable-rate mortgage usage is low, down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold May-02	No Sold May-03	Pct. Chg	Median May-02	Median May-03	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,260	2,264	0.2%	$391K	$402K	2.8%
Contra Costa	2,232	2,193	-1.7%	$345K	$376K	9.0%
Marin	460	412	-10.4%	$588K	$595K	1.2%
Napa	208	200	-3.8%	$345K	$419K	21.4%
San Francisco	662	590	-10.9%	$571K	$556K	-2.6%
San Mateo	980	869	-11.3%	$532K	$552K	3.8%
Santa Clara	2,559	2,347	-8.3%	$461K	$462K	0.2%
Solano	906	841	-7.2%	$265K	$301K	13.6%
Sonoma	971	887	-8.7%	$339K	$365K	7.7%
Bay Area	11,238	10,603	-5.7%	$413K	$427K	3.4%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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