Bay Area home sales rise again as year-over-year prices fall

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San Francisco Bay Area home sales were up 20% in June over the same month last year, while the median sales price was down 27%, MDA DataQuick reports.

The median sales price for the Bay Area was $352,000, down from $485,000 in June 2008 and 47% below the 2007 peak median price of $665,000. The June median was up 3% from May, however, and the Bay Area’s median appears to have hit its floor in March, at $290,000.

As in Southern California, the rising Bay Area median reflects the changing mix of homes sold. The market is being driven less by low-priced foreclosures and higher-end sellers are coming down in price, which is attracting buyers. So the median rises, due to sales of more expensive homes, but those homes are moving because they are dropping in price.

Foreclosed homes accounted for 37% of Bay Area sales, down from a peak of 52% in February.

-- Peter Y. Hong