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A total of 7,271 new and resale houses and condominiums closed escrow in the nine-county Bay Area in September, up 45 percent from September 2007, according to DataQuick. September’s 45 percent year-over-year sales gain was the highest for any month since April 2002, when sales soared 49 percent.
The increase was due to home sales up in the inland areas hit hard by foreclosures. Foreclosures tend to sell at a discount and are concentrated in relatively affordable neighborhoods.
Last month the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area was $400,000, down a record 36 percent from $625,000 in September 2007, according to DataQuick.
The median price has plummeted for several reasons: regionwide price depreciation, which varies by location; the relatively high cost and qualifying difficulties associated with the jumbo loans used to finance pricier homes; and a significant shift toward a higher portion of sales occurring in lower-cost inland markets.
Nearly 42 percent of all existing homes sold across the Bay Area last month were foreclosed at some point within the year, up from 36.1 percent in August and 6.9 percent a year ago.
In Santa Clara, 30.5 percent of home sales were foreclosure resales.
Homes priced correctly in the Silicon Valley region continue to receive multiple offers, according to local realtors. Julia Keady with Alain Pinel Realtors and president-elect of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, said a Sunnyvale home recently received 29 offers.
Keady encouraged buyers to take advantage of the temporary conforming loan limit of $729,750, which will end Dec. 31, when the lower conforming loan limit of $625,500 takes effect.
DataQuick reported the typical monthly mortgage payment Bay Area buyers committed to was $1,890 last month, down from $2,121 the previous month and from $3,171 a year ago.
Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 27.3 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 45.3 percent below the current cycle’s peak in June 2006.
The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors provided information for this article.
For more information, contact Rose Meily at
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