Bay Area Home Sales on the Rise!!

The number of homes sold in the Bay Area in April was
higher than a year ago for the eighth month in a row while
the median price fell 41.3 percent to $304,000 as bargainpriced
foreclosures continue to dominate the market.
While the median prices is down significantly from a year
ago, it edged up slightly on a month-to-month basis for the
first time in almost two years, said the report released
Thursday by MDA DataQuick Information Systems.
In April, a total of 7,139 new and resale houses and
condominiums closed escrow in the Bay Area, a 12.9
percent increase from March and a 13.1 percent gain from
March 2008. The 13.1 percent year-to-year gain for home
sales is significantly smaller than the 29.1 percent year-toyear
gain reported for March home sales.
Last month's median price was 4.8 percent higher than in
March, the first time there was a month-to-month gain
since October 2007, when the median price increased 1
percent from September 2007.
From March to February and from March to April, the
median sales price reflected a 1.7 percent drop, compared
to an average month-to-month decline of almost 5 percent
in the 12 months ending in January 2009.
"When you see units up and prices going up it points
toward stabilization and it's very encouraging," said Rick
Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
in the Bay Area.
A lower concentration of discounted foreclosure resales
helps explain why the median sales price has begun to
stabilize, the DataQuick report said.
That said, Turley and other real estate observers expect
more foreclosures to come onto the market in the coming
Bay Area home
sales rise again
months now that temporary foreclosure moratoriums have
ended. More foreclosures could drag down median prices,
which is the point at which half of homes sell for more and
half sell for less.
In April, 47.4 percent of existing home sales in the Bay
Area involved properties that had been foreclosed upon
at some point in the last 12 months, compared to 50.2
percent in March and 52 percent in February.
Turley pointed out that the recent slowdown in foreclosure
sales is likely the result of foreclosure moratoriums that
were in place until the end of March. Now that the
moratoriums have been lifted, expect to see more foreclosed
properties to be put on the market, he said.
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