A new survey finds that the number of homes sold in California during the month of March has hit a five-year high as prices hold steady.

Real estate research firm DataQuick reported Thursday that more than 37,000 new and existing homes and condominiums sold in the state last month.

That’s almost a 3 percent rise over the same time last year and the highest number since nearly 40,000 homes sold in March 2007.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $251,000, up less than a percent compared to a year ago.

More than half of last month’s sales statewide were of homes either in foreclosure or being sold for less than what the seller owed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Home prices across much of the San Francisco Bay area showed signs of leveling off as March sales hit their highest point in five years, a real estate research firm reported Thursday.

Nearly 7,700 new and existing homes and condominiums sold in a nine-county region in March, up more than 9 percent from the same period in 2011, according to a survey by DataQuick. It’s the highest tally for the month since more than 8,300 homes were sold in March 2007.

The San Diego-based firm said the jump was spurred in part by lower prices, though the decline compared to the same time last year was minimal. The median sales price last month was $358,000, a drop of less than 1 percent from the median March 2011 price of $360,000.

“While the changes we’re seeing are incremental, they’re incremental in a positive direction,” said Dataquick president John Walsh.

About one-quarter of existing home sales were for properties in foreclosure during the previous year. Another 19 percent were “short sales” — when the price is below the amount owed by the seller.

All-cash sales favored by investors accounted for just less than 30 percent of March sales in the region, while absentee buyers made up a little less than one-quarter of all sales. Both rates were near historic highs.

DataQuick said foreclosures in the Bay Area remained above typical levels but were down compared to the peak of the housing crisis.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/04/19/state/n095526D64.DTL

SAN FRANCISCO

Home prices across much of the San Francisco Bay area showed signs of leveling off as March sales hit their highest point in five years, a real estate research firm reported Thursday.

Nearly 7,700 new and existing homes and condominiums sold in a nine-county region in March, up more than 9 percent from the same period in 2011, according to a survey by DataQuick. It’s the highest tally for the month since more than 8,300 homes were sold in March 2007.

The San Diego-based firm said the jump was spurred in part by lower prices, though the decline compared to the same time last year was minimal. The median sales price last month was $358,000, a drop of less than 1 percent from the median March 2011 price of $360,000.

“While the changes we’re seeing are incremental, they’re incremental in a positive direction,” said Dataquick president John Walsh.

About one-quarter of existing home sales were for properties in foreclosure during the previous year. Another 19 percent were “short sales” — when the price is below the amount owed by the seller.

All-cash sales favored by investors accounted for just less than 30 percent of March sales in the region, while absentee buyers made up a little less than one-quarter of all sales. Both rates were near historic highs.

DataQuick said foreclosures in the Bay Area remained above typical levels but were down compared to the peak of the housing crisis.

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9U85KVG0.htm

A total of 7,694 houses and condominiums sold last month in
the nine-county region, up 35 percent from February and 9.1
percent from March 2011, the San Diego-based data seller said
today in a statement. March sales were last higher in 2007, when
they reached 8,317. Condo resales totaled 1,734, the most for
any month since August 2006.

“While the changes we’re seeing are incremental, they’re
incremental in a positive direction,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in the statement. A backlog of distressed properties
and tight mortgage credit are “two of the big issues” still
holding back the market, he said.

The Bay Area median price last month was $358,000, up 10
percent from February and down 0.6 percent from March 2011.
Prices have dropped on a year-over-year basis every month since
October 2010, with last month’s decline being the smallest.

Prices in San Francisco County were unchanged from a year
earlier at a median $650,000. In Marin County, the median fell
almost 16 percent to $565,000.

Eight of the region’s nine counties had sales gains from a
year earlier, led by Solano with a 13 percent advance.
Transactions rose 11 percent in San Francisco and 7 percent in
Santa Clara. In Napa, the only county to have a decrease, sales
fell 0.8 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Dan Levy in San Francisco at
dlevy13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kara Wetzel at
kwetzel@bloomberg.net

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Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-19/san-francisco-bay-area-home-sales-reach-five-year-high-for-march.html