Sales of resale homes priced above $1.5 million and $2.5 million in some Northern California counties are showing signs of fatigue while others are holding steady, based on a first quarter report by Alain Pinel Realtors, which has 24 offices in Los Altos and the region, and more than 1,000 sales professionals.

According to public records gleaned from the leading multiple listing services in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, overall units of homes sold above $2.5 million in the first quarter totaled 141 homes, compared with 150 homes sold in the same period a year ago - Jan. 1 to March 31. Sales volume declined from $580.71 million for the 150 homes in the first quarter 2005 to $531.88 million this year, an 8 percent decline. At the $1.5 million to $2.499 million level, 575 homes sold in the seven counties in the first quarter this year, compared with 646 homes sold in that price range in the first quarter 2005, an 11 percent drop. Sales volume fell from $1.508 billion to $1.344 billion, also approximately an 11 percent decline. The figures show, however, that sale prices in the upper end are holding steady and are in fact, comparable on a year-to-year basis.

Concerning inventory, there were 570 homes for sale above $2.5 million at the end of the quarter, versus 490 at the end of March 2005, for a 16.5 percent increase in inventory. At $1.5 million to $2.499 million, inventory of homes listed for sale was up 11 percent, from 1,666 at the end of the first quarter 2005 to 1,870 homes in that price range by the close of the first quarter this year.

The data is a compilation of information provided to members of the multiple-listing services that serve realtors in the region (SFMLS, REINFO and MAX-EBRD).