A tracking firm says the median home price in Northern California dropped 46 percent in February from a year ago, dropping the figure to its lowest level since 1999.
MDA DataQuick also says in a report released Thursday that home sales rose 26 percent in the region as buyers flocked to single-family homes in far-flung suburbs that have been stung by foreclosure.
DataQuick says the median home price in a nine-county region of Northern California was $295,000 last month, compared to $548,000 in February of 2008.
The February median stood at its lowest since it was $299,000 in December 1999. The median price for the area peaked at $665,000 in mid-2007.
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Home sales, median prices in February in select California counties:
COUNTY UNITS SOLD PERCENT CHANGE MEDIAN PRICE PERCENT CHANGE
San Francisco 272 -36.9 $640,000 -13.0
Marin 111 -18.4 $573,409 -26.0
San Mateo 311 -9.3 $502,250 -22.3
Santa Clara 1,079 9.7 $408,750 -37.9
Orange 1,879 27.7 $375,000 -27.9
Napa 88 54.4 $322,500 -38.6
Ventura 545 10.1 $327,000 -26.5
Los Angeles 4,590 32.4 $299,000 -35.0
Alameda 971 29.0 $290,000 -40.4
San Diego 2,473 26.6 $285,000 -31.3
Sonoma 360 41.7 $282,000 -29.5
Contra Costa 1,283 70.4 $216,500 -51.9
Solano 557 100.4 $195,000 -44.3
Riverside 3,420 59.3 $190,000 -41.5
San Bernardino 2,324 87.1 $153,000 -47.2
------ Source: MDA DataQuick
