Near Record Bay Area Home Sales

May 20, 2004

La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home sales surged to near-record levels last month as buyers scrambled to lock in mortgage financing before interest rates rise any further. Prices increased at their fastest pace in three years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 12,421 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in April. That was up 12.8 percent from 11,015 the month before and up 24.2 percent from 10,004 for April last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the highest for any April in DataQuick's statistics, and was the second highest number for any calendar month, slightly behind the record of 12,488 for August of last year. DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988.

"Potential buyers figure that today's mortgage interest rates are lower than they will be a few months from now. Current purchase activity is probably pulling in sales activity that would have happened a few months down the line if interest rates had been flat. Demand is strong, pushing prices up," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $492,000 last month, a new peak. It was up 3.8 percent from $474,000 in March, and up 15.5 percent from $426,000 for April last year. That year-over-year increase was the highest since March 2001 when the $386,000 median was 17.3 percent higher than $329,000 a year before.

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 $2,237 in April, a new high. A year ago it was $1,899.

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 Apr-03	No Sold Apr-04	Pct. Chg	Median Apr-03	Median Apr-04	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,072	2,546	22.9%	$401K	$467K	16.5%
Contra Costa	2,086	2,419	16.0%	$375K	$432K	15.2%
Marin	418	535	28.0%	$586K	$666K	13.7%
Napa	185	185	0.0%	$426K	$477K	12.0%
San Francisco	601	759	26.3%	$547K	$625K	14.3%
San Mateo	787	861	9.4%	$545K	$610K	11.9%
Santa Clara	2,178	3,344	53.5%	$467K	$526K	12.6%
Solano	841	944	12.2%	$296K	$344K	16.2%
Sonoma	836	828	-1.0%	$359K	$415K	15.6%
Bay Area	10,004	12,421	24.2%	$426K	$492K	15.5%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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