by Calculated Risk on 12/14/2006 01:22:00 PM

DataQuick reports: Bay Area home prices decline, sales at five-year low

Bay Area home prices dipped below year-ago levels in November for the second time in three months as sales held steady at a five-year low, a real estate information service reported.

Update: chart added.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area was $616,000 in November. That was 0.3 percent higher than $614,000 in October but down 1.4 percent from $625,000 in November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's year-over-year decline was the steepest since prices fell 2.1 percent in February 2002.

Bay Area California Median Home Prices
Area	Nov '04	Nov '05	Nov '06	Pct Change
Alameda	$500K	$587K	$581K	-1.0%
Contra Costa	$474K	$589K	$562K	-4.6%
Marin	$739K	$809K	$841K	4.0%
Napa	$535K	$605K	$596K	-1.5%
San Francisco	$697K	$749K	$754K	0.7%
San Mateo	$664K	$733K	$726K	-1.0%
Santa Clara	$560K	$653K	$665K	1.8%
Solano	$400K	$490K	$446K	-9.0%
Sonoma	$472K	$574K	$530K	-7.7%
Bay Area	$533K	$625K	$616K	-1.4%

I added the November 2004 median prices to give a two year perspective on prices.

A total of 7,204 new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month. That was down 9.7 percent from 7,979 sales in October, and down 25.9 percent from 9,717 in November last year. A decline from October to November is normal for the season.

Last month's sales count was the lowest for any November since 2001, when 6,644 homes sold. Since 1988, November sales have ranged from 5,579 in 1994 to 10,897 in 2004.

Bay Area California Homes Sold
Area	Nov '04	Nov '05	Nov '06	Pct Change
Alameda	2,251	2,009	1,441	-28.3%
Contra Costa	2,179	1,961	1,406	-28.3%
Marin	413	361	268	-25.8%
Napa	221	183	125	-31.7%
San Francisco	616	594	441	-25.8%
San Mateo	920	756	581	-23.1%
Santa Clara	2,624	2,394	1,846	-22.9%
Solano	918	774	565	-27.0%
Sonoma	755	685	531	-22.5%
Bay Area	10,897	9,717	7,204	-25.9%