Bay Area Home Median Passes Half Million

June 18, 2004

La Jolla, CA.----The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area passed the half-million dollar mark in May as buyers scrambled to finance purchases before mortgage interest rates rise further. The number of homes sold was the most for any May in at least sixteen years, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $506,000 last month, a new peak. That was up 2.8 percent from $492,000 in April, and up 18.5 percent from $427,000 for May last year. That year-over-year increase was the highest since January 2001 when the $375,000 median was 20.2 percent higher than $312,000 a year before, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

"There are indications now that more homes are being put up for sale. That should take some of the upward pressure off prices. It also means that sales counts will stay strong throughout the summer," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

A total of 12,028 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in May. That was down 3.2 percent from 12,421 the month before and up 13.4 percent from 10,603 for May last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's sales count was the highest for any May in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

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 $2,407 in May, a new high. A year ago it was $1,839.

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

All Homes	No Sold May-03	No Sold May-04	Pct. Chg	Median May-03	Median May-04	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,264	2,466	8.9%	$402K	$487K	21.1%
Contra Costa	2,193	2,301	4.9%	$376K	$451K	19.9%
Marin	412	465	12.9%	$595K	$642K	7.9%
Napa	200	198	-1.0%	$419K	$510K	21.7%
San Francisco	590	779	32.0%	$556K	$632K	13.7%
San Mateo	869	906	4.3%	$552K	$622K	12.7%
Santa Clara	2,347	3,068	30.7%	$462K	$544K	17.7%
Solano	841	966	14.9%	$301K	$349K	15.9%
Sonoma	887	879	-0.9%	$365K	$445K	21.9%
Bay Area	10,603	12,028	13.4%	$427K	$506K	18.5%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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