Bay Area Home Sales Up Again in November

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LA JOLLA, Calif. (DQNews) -- Bay Area home sales were ahead of 2010 for the fifth month in a row in November, despite limited mortgage availability and sluggish high-end sales.

The median sale price fell again on a year-over-year basis, partly because of the slowdown in sales above the mid point for prices, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 6,317 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 2.0% from 6,444 in October, and up 3.4% from 6,111 in November 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month was $363,500. That was up 3.9% from $350,000 in October, and down 4.3% from $380,000 in November 2010. The median has declined on a year-over-year basis for the last 14 months.

Last month distressed property sales -- the combination of foreclosure resales and "short sales" -- made up 47.8% of the resale market. That was up from 45.2% in October and 46.7% a year ago.

Foreclosure resales -- homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months -- accounted for 26.5% of resales in November. That was up from 25.3% in October, and down from 28.6% a year ago. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52.0% in February 2009. The monthly average for foreclosure resales over the past 15 years is about 10%.

Short sales -- transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property -- made up an estimated 21.3% of Bay Area resales last month. That was up from 19.9 % in October and 18.1 % a year earlier. Two years ago the estimate was 16.5%.

Last month 31.0% of Bay Area sales were for $500,000 or more, down from a revised 31.3% in October, and down from 37.2% in November 2010.

Government-insured FHA home purchase loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 22.3% of all Bay Area home purchase mortgages in November. That was up from 21.2% in October and down from 23.9% a year earlier.