Prices up, sales down – Median in Bay Area rises 19% over last September
The Chronicle today has an article that discusses yesterday’s Dataquick report on recent sales. Kelly Zito smartly points out (unlike some bloggers and pundits yesterday afternoon) that SALES were down, but PRICES were up. This just means fewer houses sold in August and September. It doesn’t mean prices were lower.
“A total of 11,205 houses and condos changed hands, a 7.2 percent decrease from August 2004 and the sixth month in a row that sales have fallen year over year.”
August was a total boon for sellers with nearly zero inventory in San Francisco. That changed rather dramatically after Labor Day and has continued into early October. The new inventory flood has slowed, and that will likely be the trend moving into the holidays. The high inventory levels haven’t really changed prices, it has just given buyers another week or so to look at a property before writing an offer.
“We’ve been expecting some kind of recalibration for a year, and that’s just not happening — at least not yet,” DataQuick analyst John Karevoll said.
“Meanwhile, for the past 18 months, year-to-year price increases in the Bay Area have ranged between 16.5 percent and 20.5 percent.”
