Bay Area: Home sales and prices step back from peaks

August 16, 2005

La Jolla, CA.----The Bay Area real estate market took a breather last month as sales and prices took a baby step back from the record territory of recent months, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 11,470 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was down 11.9 percent from 13,014 for June, and down 10.8 percent from 12,862 for July last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The July 2004 sales count was the strongest for that calendar month in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. Last June's sales count was the second-strongest June.

"No records were set last month. Does that mean the market is turning? Probably not. Sure, July was the first month this year that Bay Area home prices didn't reach a new peak. But more important than reaching new highs every month is how stable and sustainable the market is. Right now, things are looking pretty good," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $606,000. That was down 0.7 percent from $610,000 in June, and up 17.9 percent from $514,000 for July 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 $2,652 in July. That was up one dollar from $2,651 in June. A year ago it was $2,361.

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 July-04	No Sold July-05	Pct. Chg	Median July-04	Median July-05	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,804	2,431	-13.3%	$499K	$575K	15.2%
Contra Costa	2,544	2,308	-9.3%	$450K	$555K	23.3%
Marin	482	408	-15.4%	$726K	$806K	11.0%
Napa	209	184	-12.0%	$505K	$586K	16.0%
San Francisco	806	637	-21.0%	$650K	$776K	19.4%
San Mateo	986	806	-18.3%	$646K	$759K	17.5%
Santa Clara	3,056	2,764	-9.6%	$537K	$642K	19.6%
Solano	1,016	1,039	2.3%	$370K	$450K	21.6%
Sonoma	959	893	-6.9%	$459K	$548K	19.4%
Bay Area	12,862	11,470	-10.8%	$514K	$606K	17.9%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

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