Bay Area: Near-Record Home Sales, Prices Stay at Peak

January 19, 2005

La Jolla, CA.----Home sales in the Bay Area finished out the year with the second strongest December on record as prices remained at their peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 11,068 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in December. That was up 1.6 percent from 10,897 in November, and down 2.5 percent from 11,354 for December last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

An increase from November to December is normal for the season. The year-ago December sales count was the strongest for any December in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

"A year ago, we were more optimistic about 2004 than most of the housing forecasts. Still, we didn't expect to see 2004 end as strongly as it did. Then again, most predictions were that mortgage interest rates would be higher at the end of the year, not lower. Certainly demand has remained stronger than anticipated," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.34 percent in mid December 2003, it was 5.23 percent a year later, according to market tracker National Financial News Services.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $533,000 last month, matching the record set in November. That was up 16.4 percent from $458,000 for December a year ago. Year-over-year price increases have been in the 15%-18% range since April.

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 $2,350 in December, unchanged from November. A year ago it was $2,045. It peaked at $2,450 in June when mortgage interest rates were somewhat higher. In today's dollars the payment reached $2,406 in April 1990.

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.

All Homes	No Sold Dec-03	No Sold Dec-04	Pct. Chg	Median Dec-03	Median Dec-04	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,315	2,290	-1.1%	$425K	$497K	16.9%
Contra Costa	2,195	2,259	2.9%	$401K	$480K	19.7%
Marin	414	408	-1.4%	$629K	$732K	16.4%
Napa	186	250	34.4%	$447K	$550K	23.0%
San Francisco	756	583	-22.9%	$565K	$683K	20.9%
San Mateo	995	801	-19.5%	$570K	$668K	17.2%
Santa Clara	2,793	2,632	-5.8%	$494K	$569K	15.2%
Solano	848	1,053	24.2%	$323K	$404K	25.1%
Sonoma	852	792	-7.0%	$408K	$484K	18.6%
Bay Area	11,354	11,068	-2.5%	$458K	$533K	16.4%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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