Bay Area Home Sales Jump

August 21, 2003

La Jolla, CA.--Last month's Bay Area home sales jumped to their highest level in more than four years, the result of continued demand and still affordable mortgage interest rates. Prices edged up to a new peak.

A total of 11,501 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 9.6 percent from 10,492 in June and up 13.6 percent from 10,122 for July a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The July sales count was the highest since 12,124 homes were sold in June 1999.

"These July numbers won't reflect any effect higher mortgage interest rates would have on the market. We'll have to wait for August and September numbers for that. It could go either way, the higher rates could push some potential buyers out, and they could draw the fence-sitters in. We may be in for a pretty strong fall," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $444,000 last month, a new high. That was up 0.2 percent from $443,000 in June, and was up 6.5 percent from $417,000 for July 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.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,953 in July. A year ago it was $2,008. 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 flat, down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Jul-02	No Sold Jul-03	Pct. Chg	Median Jul-02	Median Jul-03	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,102	2,354	12.0%	$402K	$417K	3.7%
Contra Costa	1,983	2,334	17.7%	$345K	$394K	14.2%
Marin	377	471	24.9%	$603K	$661K	9.6%
Napa	210	196	-6.7%	$362K	$427K	18.0%
San Francisco	598	656	9.7%	$544K	$543K	-0.2%
San Mateo	878	1,015	15.6%	$537K	$559K	4.1%
Santa Clara	2,154	2,690	24.9%	$476K	$475K	-0.2%
Solano	854	903	5.7%	$265K	$308K	16.2%
Sonoma	966	882	-8.7%	$353K	$386K	9.3%
Bay Area	10,122	11,501	13.6%	$417K	$444K	6.5%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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