La Jolla, CA.—-Bargain hunting dominated the Bay Area housing market last month as the purchase of foreclosure properties accounted for more than half of all resales for the first time. Sales patterns also reflected continued problems for buyers looking to finance purchases in the upper half of the market’s price range, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 6,889 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine- county region last month. That was up 19.7 percent from 5,756 in November, and up 36.0 percent from 5,065 for December 2007, according to MDA DataQuick.
While sales were well below the 8,807 average for all Decembers going back to 1988, they were no longer at the record low levels of late 2007 and the first half of 2008.
The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $330,000 in December. That was down 5.7 percent from $350,000 for the month before, and down 43.8 percent from $587,500 for December 2007. That was the lowest it has been since March 2000 when the median was $320,500, and 50.4% below the $665,000 peak of June/July 2007.
“It would be wrong to say that Bay Area home values are half of what they were a year-and-a-half ago. We’re figuring that maybe half of the decline in median is a market mix issue, and DQNEWS.com
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