La Jolla, CA.-The number of homes sold in the Bay Area increased on a year-over-year basis for the sixteenth month in a row in October while the median price paid rose for the sixth month, the result of a gradual rebalancing of the real estate market according to Dataquick. Mortgage availability remains an issue.
A total of 7,795 new and resale homes were sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 13.8 percent from 6,850 in September, and up 21.0 percent from 6,444 for October 2011.
Sales for the month of October have varied from 5,486 in 2007 to 13,392 in 2003, while the average for all months of October since 1988, when DataQuick's statistics start, is 8,587.
Last month sales continued to fall below year-ago levels in the lower price categories and rise sharply in the middle and high end of the market. October transactions below $300,000 fell 15.2 percent compared with a year earlier, while sales in the $400,000 to $800,000 range rose 25.7 percent, and deals above $800,000 jumped 47.1 percent from last October.
The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area was $416,000 last month. That was down 3.0 percent from $429,000 in September and up 18.9 percent from $350,000 in October a year ago. The year-over-year percentage increase was the highest since May 2010, when the $410,000 median rose 20.1 percent.
"We're still watching the market regain the ground it lost after 2007. It's unclear exactly much of today's apparent price increase reflects actual growth, and how much reflects a change in market characteristics. The two factors obviously play into each other. We're definitely seeing less distress and foreclosure activity, and more mid- to up-market sales. Supply is limited, and getting through the mortgage process is still rough," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 15.5 percent of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in October, up from 15.4 percent in September and down from 21.2 percent a year earlier. Over the last few months the FHA level has been the lowest since summer 2008.
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but well below peak levels reached over the last three years. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported.
