Bay Area Home Prices Drop Again

It’s starting to be a trend, reports The San Jose Mercury News.

For the second time this year, the median price of Bay Area homes dropped below their year-ago levels last month, a real estate information firm reported today.

The median price of all homes - including new and resale houses and condos - was $616,000 in November, said DataQuick Information Systems. That’s down 1.4 percent from November 2005, but up slightly from $614,000 in October. It’s still a steep price to pay for middle-income workers contemplating a California mortgage.

In September, the median price of all homes sold in the region fell year-over-year for the first time since March 2002.

Continuing a yearlong pattern, fewer homes of all types sold throughout the nine Bay Area counties last month. However, price trends among different types of homes varied slightly from county to county.

In Santa Clara County, for example, the median price of resale single-family houses was $734,500 last month - 2.7 percent higher than a year ago. That price was essentially flat compared to October 2006. The median price of resale condos rose 8.2 percent, to $503,000.

San Mateo County resale house prices also registered a slight gain, rising 1.3 percent, to a median figure of $797,000.

But in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, resale prices were down from last year. Alameda’s fell 1 percent, to $619,000, and Contra Costa’s dropped 1.7 percent, to $575,000. There was simply less demand for California mortgages in these sectors.

In a statement released with the data today, DataQuick president Marshall Prentice said:

“Right now it looks like the Bay Area market is settling in on a price level that could last until spring. What happens after that depends on broader economic factors including interest rates, job growth and household incomes.”

The same can be said for the general California housing market. Keep an eye on its trends and values if you’re thinking about purchasing there.