More Signs of Slowing Hoousing Market in the Bay Area

The Bay Area real estate market decelerated further in January, as sales dropped to the lowest level in five years and prices increased at the slowest pace since early 2004.

Across the nine-county region, 6,004 new and resale houses and condos sold, down 35.8 percent from December and 20 percent from last January.

The sales count, which extended the decline streak to 10 straight months, was the lowest since January 2001, when 5,977 homes traded hands.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $607,000 last month, down 0.3 percent from December, but up 13.7 percent from $534,000 last January. The annual price increase was the lowest since March 2004, when prices rose 13.1 percent.

The same trends held in the East Bay.

In Alameda County, 1,259 homes sold, down 16.2 percent from January 2005 and 33.8 percent from December. The median price was $562,000, up 13.5 percent from January 2005 and down 2.3 percent from the prior month.

In Contra Costa County, 1,197 homes sold, down 14.1 percent from last January and 39 percent from December. The median price was $570,000, up 20 percent from a year ago and down 0.5 percent from the prior month.

DataQuick emphasized that a sales decline from December to January is normal.

"We won't know for another couple of months if this is a lull in the market or part of a longer-term downturn, said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president, in a prepared statement. "It's always difficult to project from trends we see in January and February."

Still, DataQuick said it's "probable" that appreciation will dip into single digits in February and possibly March.