Inman

S.F. Bay Area real estate prices set record

The median price paid for a San Francisco Bay Area home edged up to a new record in August, and home sales posted their third-strongest month in more than 16 years, according to real estate information service DataQuick.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $520,000 last month, up 1.2 percent from July’s $514,000 and up 16.3 percent from $447,000 for August 2003.

A total of 12,674 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in August, down 1.5 percent from 12,862 in July, and up 1.5 percent from 12,488 for August last year, DataQuick reported.

In addition to being the strongest August in DataQuick’s records, which go back to 1988, last month’s sales were the third highest of any month, behind July, and behind June of this year when 14,104 homes were sold.

“While current sales are a bit off the June peak, it can’t really be said that the market is turning when we’ve just had the third-highest sales count in at least 16 years, as well as a new price peak. With today’s demand, we may well see sales and appreciation stay strong through the rest of the year,” said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

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