Total Bay Area home sales in December were up 4.4% from the same month a year earlier, but the region¿s median sale price fell 6.3%. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) |
Sales activity in the Bay Area showed some improvement in December, but like Southern California’s housing market, prices continued to trend lower.
Sales in the Bay Area remained subdued with few move-up buyers and lots of investors scraping the bottom, according to DataQuick, a real estate information service based in San Diego. Total sales were up 4.4% from the same month a year earlier, with a total of 7,494 properties sold.
The region’s median sale price in December fell 6.3% from the same period a year earlier to $351,500. That was the 15thconsecutive month that the median price declined on a year-over-year basis. The median is the point at which half of the homes in the area sold for more and half for less.
“We’ll remember 2011 as much for what didn’t happen as for what did,” said John Walsh, president of DataQuick. “People put discretionary buying and selling on hold, except at the very top of the market.”
In Southern California, a record number of investors and second-home buyers flooded the market in December, though that was not enough to give sales in the region a bump over the same month a year prior.
With the investor dominance, low-cost homes reigned. That helped push the region’s median home price back down to its lowest level in 12 months, according to DataQuick.
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Sales in the Bay Area remained subdued with few move-up buyers and lots of investors scraping the bottom, according to DataQuick, a real estate information service based in San Diego. Total sales were up 4.4% from the same month a year earlier, with a total of 7,494 properties sold.
The region’s median sale price in December fell 6.3% from the same period a year earlier to $351,500. That was the 15thconsecutive month that the median price declined on a year-over-year basis. The median is the point at which half of the homes in the area sold for more and half for less.
“We’ll remember 2011 as much for what didn’t happen as for what did,” said John Walsh, president of DataQuick. “People put discretionary buying and selling on hold, except at the very top of the market.”
In Southern California, a record number of investors and second-home buyers flooded the market in December, though that was not enough to give sales in the region a bump over the same month a year prior.
With the investor dominance, low-cost homes reigned. That helped push the region’s median home price back down to its lowest level in 12 months, according to DataQuick.
RELATED:
Foreclosures expected to rise
Freddie Mac shows record rates again
Investors flood Southern California housing market
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