Decline in Bay Area home sales, prices

January 19, 2006

La Jolla, CA.----Home sales in the nine-county Bay Area declined on a year-over-year basis for the ninth month in a row in December as prices eased back from their November peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 9,347 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the region last month. That was down 3.8 percent from 9,717 for November, and down 15.5 percent from 11,068 for December last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The month-to-month decline is unusual, sales normally increase from November to December. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any December since 8,987 were sold in December 2002. The 15.5 percent year-over-year decline was the steepest since sales fell 27.2 percent in November 2001.

"Demand still seems to be there, but the sense of urgency seems to be a thing of the past. We don't expect the market to tumble, but we do expect price increases to level off between now and spring," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $609,000 last month. That was down 2.6 percent from November's record high of $625,000, and up 14.3 percent from $533,000 for December a year ago. The annual price increase was the lowest since prices rose 13.1 percent to $474,000 in March 2004.

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 $2,867 in December. That was down from $2,921 in November, and up from $2,350 for December a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, mortgage payments are 16 percent higher than they were at the peak of the prior cycle sixteen years ago.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Foreclosure rates are low, but are expected to rise this year. Down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix, DataQuick reported.

All Homes	No Sold Dec-04	No Sold Dec-05	Pct. Chg	Median Dec-04	Median Dec-05	Pct. Chg
Alameda	2,290	1,903	-16.9%	$497K	$575K	15.7%
Contra Costa	2,259	1,963	-13.1%	$480K	$573K	19.4%
Marin	408	292	-28.4%	$732K	$771K	5.3%
Napa	250	174	-30.4%	$550K	$572K	4.0%
San Francisco	583	552	-5.3%	$683K	$727K	6.4%
San Mateo	801	738	-7.9%	$668K	$739K	10.6%
Santa Clara	2,632	2,305	-12.4%	$569K	$642K	12.8%
Solano	1,053	773	-26.6%	$404K	$473K	17.1%
Sonoma	792	647	-18.3%	$484K	$558K	15.3%
Bay Area	11,068	9,347	-15.5%	$533K	$609K	14.3%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright 2005 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.