Bay Area home sales show strength in June

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Bay Area home sales rose 14.5% from May to June to the highest level for any month since June 2010, the last month to experience a surge of deals fueled by the popular federal tax credit for buyers.

The median price rose 1.5% from May to $377,750, but that was still down 7.9% from June 2010, according to San Diego research firm MDA DataQuick.

It was the ninth consecutive month that the median –- the price at which half the homes sold for less and half sold for more -- remained below its year-earlier level.

“June likely benefited from a combination of factors, such as price reductions, low mortgage rates and perhaps a batch of short sale transactions from spring that took months to close,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement. “Bargain hunters, mainly investors and first-time buyers, remain very active.”

A total of 7,998 new and previously owned houses and condominiums sold in the Bay Area last month. That was up 14.5%, though still down 4.5% from June 2010.

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-- Alejandro Lazo