San Francisco Bay Area prices good as gold
August 21, 2002
Home sales push upward in 9-county region, median price breaks new record
Inman News Features
San Francisco Bay Area home sales and prices edged up again in July as a steady stream of buyers took advantage of affordable home financing and more homes on the market, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 10,122 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month, up 0.7 percent from 10,056 in June, and up 19.7 percent from 8,459 for July a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
Home sales have been up every month this year on a year-over-year basis, according to DataQuick. The number of homes sold so far this year is 66,888, up 26.2 percent from 53,001 for the same period last year, and the highest total since 69,197 homes were sold during the first seven months of 1999.
"We expect more of the same in the months ahead, strong sales and moderate price increases. Some escrows may take a bit longer to close because of strong refinance activity putting pressure on the financing process," said DataQuick President Mike Ela.
The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $417,000 last month, a new record, according to DataQuick. That was up 0.2 percent from $416,000 in June, and up 9.2 percent from $382,000 for July last year.
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.
Copyright: Inman News Service
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