NorCal Home Sales Hit 20-Year Low For September

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Oct. 18, 2007 (KGO) -- There are new signs of just how hard the mortgage meltdown is hitting the Bay Area as the latest data shows home sales in Northern California have sunk to the lowest level in two decades.

The real estate research firm DataQuick says just over 5,000 homes sold last month -- that's a drop of 40 percent from a year ago. The median price in September was $625,000 dollars, down 4.6 percent from the month before.

In Contra Costa County, realtor Lynda Bartels says these days, a lot of folks are looking at homes, but not necessarily buying.

"I think buyers are worried. They want to get a home as low as they can, but at the same time inventory is up and there's lots to choose from."

The Bay Area housing slump is hitting realtors hard. Bartels' profits are down 80 percent in the last two years and developers are also trying to unload leftover homes that just won't sell.

"The business decision is more of an advantage to sell at a discount and lose money than wait 12 months on a market that might improve," says Bartels.

The Cerrita Gated Community in Pinole has seven, 3-bedroom, 2-bath homes that will sell at auction next month. Opening bid is $385,000 dollars -- nearly half of the asking price.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy. You can wait over 6-months, a year, even two years, and we're still going to see those lingering effects," says Thomas Davidoff, U.C. Berkeley Haas School Of Business.

Effects of mortgage lenders being extra cautious to who they lend will continue the downward spiral of home sales and prices, according to Berkeley business professor Tom Davidoff.

Proof is in the numbers according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Contra Costa County home sales fell 49-percent since September of last year. Alameda county home sales fell 44-percent, Santa Clara County fell 38-percent, San Mateo County fell 34, and San Francisco fell 17 percent.

Davidoff predicts San Mateo and San Francisco counties will soon follow the trend, and see home sales fall and prices plummet even more.

"For the inner Bay Area the worst is yet to come, and it's going to be best for buyers."

It's not what realtor Lynda Bartels wanted to hear. She expected the slump, but nothing like this.

"We have 100 agents, we're hanging in there, trying to stay positive, out there working."

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