Bay Area Home Sales Plummet To Housing Crisis Levels

BAY AREA — Bay Area home prices have been dropping for several months, but today's real estate news is jaw dropping. Home sales plunged 20 percent in December 2018 compared to the previous December, bringing totals down to levels last seen 11 years ago at the start of the housing crisis in 2007. Those figures were released by CoreLogic, the real estate information firm.

Experts blame the slowdown on a variety of factors, notably affordability after years of rising prices outpacing wage increases.

"Last month's sharp drop in home sales stands out in several ways," said Andrew LePage, research analyst with CoreLogic. "This drop in activity reflects a variety of factors. Mortgage rates hit a 2018 high in November, affecting December closings, and stock-market volatility created an additional headwind in high-end markets. Meanwhile, some would-be buyers remain priced out or unwilling to buy amid concerns that prices have overshot a sustainable level."

The median sales price for existing homes in the Bay Area peaked last May at $935,000. In December, the price was all the way down to $775,000. Of course, the cost varies by county. In San Francisco the median sales price was $1.45 million, while it's below a million in the East Bay:

• Alameda: $800,000
• Contra Costa: $557,000

Southern California isn't faring any better. Los Angeles County home sales dropped by 20 percent in December, the same as the Bay Area, while Orange County saw a whopping decline of 26 percent.

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Patch Staffers Bea Karnes and Paige Austin, along with City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock