The Bay Area housing crisis is worsening on all counts, as the lack of credit and growing economic uncertainty extinguished hope for a quick turnaround in the new year.
January data show regional home sales dropping to a 20-year low and the median price falling nearly 9 percent. Nearly one-fifth of the properties that did trade hands in the Bay Area last month had been foreclosed upon last year.
“We’re going through the painful transition toward pricing that is realistic and we’re nowhere near that (yet),” said Christopher Thornberg, an economist and founding partner of real estate research firm Beacon Economics. “Even though your local real estate agent will tell you, it’s OK in this neighborhood or it’s a wonderful time to buy because interest rates are low, all that’s wrong. If you’re buying into this market, you’re overpaying.”
A total of 2,312 resale homes sold in the nine-county Bay Area in January, down 43.7 percent from a year ago and 24.2 percent from December, according to DataQuick Information Systems. It’s the lowest regional sales total in the two decades the La Jolla research firm has tracked the area and the 38th straight month of declines.
