Foreclosures Spur San Francisco Bay Area Homes Sales

2009 February 20

February 20 2009 - The relentless surge of foreclosures spurred gangbuster sales and bargain prices for San Francisco Bay Area homes in January, according to a real estate report released Thursday.

A total of 3,918 existing single-family homes changed hands in the nine-county region last month, a big jump from 2,312 sales in January 2008, according to research firm MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

For the first time, more than half - 54.2 percent - of all homes sold in the nine-county region were bank-owned foreclosures. Their fire-sale prices drove the median sales price for existing homes down to $304,000, a nine-year low.

“Despite virtually no signs of home prices stabilizing anywhere, plenty of people have decided it is time to buy, simply because of the increased affordability,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst. “Through all this bleak news on the economy and jobs and home prices still eroding, plenty of people who sat out the frenzied stages of the market are deciding it may not pay to wait now.”

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