Finally, an Uptick in Bay Area's Housing Market

The median home price in Northern California increased nearly 5 percent last month from March, suggesting some parts of the region's housing market could be stabilizing, a tracking firm said Thursday.
     
The increase marks a reversal of the steady month-to-month price declines that have held since fall 2007, said MDA DataQuick, which released figures Tuesday hinting at possible stability in Southern California.

"For the past few months we've seen faint but growing signs that would normally suggest many markets are nearing price stabilization," said DataQuick president John Walsh, who cautioned that job losses and other factors could threaten a sustained recovery.

The median price in the Northern California region was $304,000 last month.  That is still a 41 percent plunge from the year-ago period when the figure stood at $518,000.

Home sales climbed 13 percent last month to 7,139 from 6,310 a year ago.

More than 47 percent of all Northern California sales last month involved foreclosed properties, DataQuick said, the lowest level for those sales since November 2008.

Declining foreclosure resales have helped flatten the median home price, the firm said.
    

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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