Home Sales: Strongest Bay Area September in Fifteen Years

October 22, 2003

La Jolla, CA.--Home sales in the Bay Area just had their strongest September in fifteen years as motivated buyers took advantage of low mortgage interest rates before any potential increase could occur.

A total of 11,919 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was down 4.6 percent from August's record 12,488 and up 37.6 percent from 8,662 for September a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The decline from August to September is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the highest for any September since 12,028 homes were sold in that month in 1988. So far this year 89,473 homes have been sold, up 5.0 percent from 85,189 for the same nine- month period last year, and the most since 90,207 in 1999.

"Obviously there was a perception in July and August, when these buyers were doing their shopping, that interest rates had bottomed out and could increase. That hasn't happened and the buying frenzy could ease back a bit by the end of the year," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $446,000 last month. That was down 0.2 percent from a record $447,000 in August, and was up 7.7 percent from $414,000 for September 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 numbers for San Mateo County are extrapolated because of limited data availability.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $2,019 in September. A year ago it was $1,930. The peak was in May 2000 at $2,124.

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

All Homes	No Sold Sep-02	No Sold Sep-03	Pct. Chg	Median Sep-02	Median Sep-03	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,754	2,428	38.4%	$405K	$419K	3.5%
Contra Costa	1,798	2,414	34.3%	$351K	$399K	13.7%
Marin	345	462	33.9%	$577K	$597K	3.5%
Napa	209	184	-12.0%	$368K	$445K	20.9%
San Francisco	487	703	44.4%	$534K	$567K	6.2%
San Mateo	661	884	33.7%	$547K	$563K	2.9%
Santa Clara	1,837	2,988	62.7%	$463K	$477K	3.0%
Solano	768	967	25.9%	$276K	$316K	14.5%
Sonoma	803	889	10.7%	$349K	$387K	10.9%
Bay Area	8,662	11,919	37.6%	$414K	$446K	7.7%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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