Bay Area June Housing Stats Show Downward Spiral

Yesterday, DataQuck released its June report on housing prices and their headline reads: “Bay Area median price dives below $500K; sales near record low.” It appears that we are now close to 2004 price levels, with the median price pegged at $485,000. While many areas are still fairly stable, this plunge is partially due to all the foreclosures being sold at record low rates, and an increase in sales in less expensive areas where new and newish homes can be bought at a very reduced rate. We’re talking Solano and Contra Costa counties, as well as other outlying areas. In fact, foreclosure resales were 28.7% of all sales, up about 1% over May and 3.5% last year at this time. San Francisco suffered the least from foreclosure sales, with only 3%, while Solano County had a whopping 57.7% of their sales coming from foreclosures.

DataQuick reported that June 2008 sales were off 27% over June 2007 and fell 6.2% from from May of 2008. That means seven months of sliding sales. There was some good news to report, as the number of homes sold did increase, from 6.216 in May to 7,178 in June, a 15.15% increase. Of course it doesn’t come near the 7,964 that was logged in June of last year, but a 15% increase is a positive sign, especially with the credit and mortgage markets being so tight. For the full report, you can go to DataQuick here.

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