Bay Area home sales surge at year end

January 22, 2004

La Jolla, CA.--Home sales in the Bay Area experienced their strongest December in more than sixteen years as prices moved to new highs, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 11,354 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 18.3 percent from 9,594 for the month before, and up 26.3 percent from 8,987 for December last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

An increase from November to December is normal for the season. Last month's sales count was the highest for any December in DataQuick's records, which go back to 1988. The strongest December prior to last month in 1988 when 10,870 homes were sold.

"Obviously there is still quite a bit of demand out there. This shows that potential buyers will do what it takes to get into the home they want. Today's interest rates help them to do that," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $458,000 last month, a new record. The median was up 0.7 percent from $455,000 for November and up 10.1 percent from $416,000 for December a year ago.

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 $2,045 in December. A year ago it was $1,913. 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 Dec-02	No Sold Dec-03	Pct. Chg	Median Dec-02	Median Dec-03	Pct. Chg
Alameda	1,713	2,315	35.1%	$404K	$425K	5.2%
Contra Costa	1,843	2,195	19.1%	$364K	$401K	10.2%
Marin	362	414	14.4%	$554K	$629K	13.5%
Napa	202	186	-7.9%	$389K	$447K	14.9%
San Francisco	559	756	35.2%	$546K	$565K	3.5%
San Mateo	732	995	35.9%	$518K	$570K	10.0%
Santa Clara	2,039	2,793	37.0%	$451K	$494K	9.5%
Solano	786	848	7.9%	$290K	$323K	11.4%
Sonoma	751	852	13.4%	$343K	$408K	19.0%
Bay Area	8,987	11,354	26.3%	$416K	$458K	10.1%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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