New Price Peak for Bay Area Homes, Near-Record Sales

May 16, 2005

La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home prices moved up to another new high last month as sales remained at near-record levels, the result of strong demand and flat mortgage interest rates, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 11,158 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in April. That was down 1.3 percent from 11,310 for the previous month, and down 10.2 percent from 12,421 for April last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last year's April was the strongest April in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. Last month was the second- strongest. Last month's year-over-year sales decline was the first of this year.

"We're watching carefully for any turn in the market. Right now we just don't see anything. Appreciation is pretty even across the different categories, there are really no changes in market mix, purchase and financing profiles are stable. Mortgage rates haven't gone up as they were expected to do, and demand appears to be strong," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $586,000, a new record. That was up 3.2 percent from $568,000 in March, and up 19.1 percent from $492,000 for April a year ago.

Prices are going up at their fastest pace in four years, the Bay Area appreciation rate has now passed Southern California's for the first time in four years.

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 $2,659 in April, an all-time high. A year ago it was $2,237.

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 Apr-04	No Sold Apr-05	Pct. Chg	Median Apr-04	Median Apr-05	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,546	2,244	-11.9%	$467K	$552K	18.2%
Contra Costa	2,419	2,119	-12.4%	$432K	$530K	22.7%
Marin	535	481	-10.1%	$666K	$779K	17.0%
Napa	185	205	10.8%	$477K	$574K	20.3%
San Francisco	759	681	-10.3%	$625K	$751K	20.2%
San Mateo	861	850	-1.3%	$610K	$731K	19.8%
Santa Clara	3,344	2,830	-15.4%	$526K	$619K	17.7%
Solano	944	1,037	9.9%	$344K	$409K	18.9%
Sonoma	828	711	-14.1%	$415K	$534K	28.7%
Bay Area	12,421	11,158	-10.2%	$492K	$586K	19.1%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

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