San Francisco, Calif.-The median price paid for a Bay Area home rose to its highest level in more than four years in September. Dataquick reports it's the result of a slowly improving economy, low mortgage interest rates and shifts in market mix.
The median price paid for new and resale homes in the nine-county Bay Area rose to $429,000 last month. That was up 4.6 percent from $410,000 in August and up 17.5 percent from $365,000 in September a year ago. It was the highest since August 2008 when it was $447,000.
The low point of the current real estate cycle was $290,000 in March 2009, while the peak was $665,000 in June/July 2007. About half of the median's peak-to-trough drop, as well as the median's 17.5 percent increase over the last year, can be attributed to a shift in the number of foreclosure properties in the available inventory.
"It's obvious that a lot of fence-sitters are getting active. We're probably past that most attractive of mathematical sweet spots, the one that combines low interest rates and low prices. In other words, price increases the past few months outweigh mortgage rate declines. Potential buyers are also encountering fewer homes for sale. Additionally, going through today's qualification process for a mortgage is still a real grind," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
A total of 6,850 new and resale homes were sold in the Bay Area last month. That was down 20.2 percent from 8,579 in August, and up 1.5 percent from 6,749 for September 2011.
Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 37.1 percent of last month's purchase lending, down from a revised 38.8 percent in August, and up from 32.1 percent a year ago. Jumbo usage dropped to 17.1 percent in January 2009. Before the credit crunch struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for nearly 60 percent of the Bay Area purchase loan market.
Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, made up 15.9 percent of all Bay Area purchase mortgages in September, up from 15.1 percent in August and down from 21.7 percent a year earlier.
Last month absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased a near-record 24.1 percent of all Bay Area homes, up from 22.8 percent in August, and up from 21.9 percent a year ago. Absentee buyers paid a median $285,000 in September, up from $280,000 in August and up 16.5 percent from $245,000 a year ago.
(chart)
All Homes #Sold #Sold Pct. $Median Median Pct.
Sep-11 Sep-12 Chng Sep-11 Sep-12 Chng
Alameda 1,348 1,322 -1.9% $348,000 $379,000 8.9%
Contra Costa 1,394 1,403 0.6% $252,000 $320,000 27.0%
Marin 239 268 12.1% $628,409 $650,000 3.4%
Napa 124 126 1.6% $315,000 $345,000 9.5%
Santa Clara 1,560 1,601 2.6% $470,000 $550,000 17.0%
San Francisco 399 492 23.3% $613,750 $745,000 21.4%
San Mateo 607 655 7.9% $551,000 $620,000 12.5%
Solano 606 537 -11.4% $195,000 $200,000 2.6%
Sonoma 472 446 -5.5% $307,000 $335,000 9.1%
Bay Area 6,749 6,850 1.5% $365,000 $429,000 17.5%
Source: DataQuick, DQNews.com
