Bay Area home sales continue slump; San Francisco prices decline

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Bay Area home sales extended their slump for a fourth straight month in September and prices were mixed in the nine-county region.

A total of 6,334 new and previously owned houses and condominiums were sold last month, a 5.4% drop from August and a 19.6% decline from September 2009, according to real estate research firm MDA DataQuick of San Diego. It was the slowest sales pace for any September since 2007.

“The sidelines are getting awfully crowded in this housing game,” DataQuick president John Walsh said. “They’re lined with people who have the ability to buy now but are waiting for the right moment, and with people who have the means but lack job confidence.”

The median home price for the region was $395,000, a 2.6% increase from $385,000 in August and up 8.2% from $365,000 in September 2009.

Prices of previously owned homes declined in Napa, San Francisco and San Mateo counties on a year-over-year basis last month. San Francisco County’s overall median home price was down 4.6%, hitting $620,000.

-- Alejandro Lazo