by Calculated Risk on 4/16/2009 02:04:00 PM

From DataQuick: Bay Area home sales continue climb, median still below $300K

The number of homes sold in the Bay Area rose for the seventh month in a row in March, the result of continued bargain hunting in the East Bay and other foreclosure-discounted communities. ...

A total of 6,325 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 25.7 percent from 5,032 in February and up 29.1 percent from 4,898 in March 2008, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

Last year's March was the slowest in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. Last month was the third-slowest March of all time, ahead of last year and 6,210 sales in March 1995. March sales have averaged 9,025 and peaked in March 2004 at 12,645 sales.
...
"For now, the extent to which prices have fallen in the upscale markets is more difficult to gauge," he added, "because many of those areas are essentially in hibernation, with scant sales."
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The use of government-insured FHA loans - a common choice among first-time buyers - represented a record 25.4 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans in March, up from 1.5 percent a year ago.
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Last month 51.2 percent of all Bay Area resale homes had been foreclosed on at some point in the prior 12 months, down from 52.0 percent in February and up from 23.2 percent a year ago. By county it ranged from 11.5 percent in San Francisco to 70.0 in Solano.
...
Foreclosure activity is nearing its 2008 peak ...

Once again, ignore the median price - it is distorted by the mix.

This is the same story as SoCal - the sales activity is mostly in foreclosure ravaged areas, and the high end areas are in "hibernation".