Sales down statewide, prices stay high in Bay Area

Bay Area (Map, News) - The San Francisco Bay Area continues to defy the trend in falling home prices that has gripped much of the rest of the state.

Homes sales dropped 40.2 percent in California in October compared to a year ago and the median home price fell 9.9 percent, according to the California Association of Realtors.

The median price for an existing, single-family home in California for October 2007 was $497,110, a 9.9 percent decrease from October 2006 and a 6.4 percent decrease from September 2007.

In the Bay Area, however, prices continued to climb. The median price reported in October 2007 for the San Francisco Bay region was $810,490, a 3.3 percent increase from September and an 8.9 percent increase from October 2006. Home sales in the region were up 9 percent from September but down 41 percent from October 2006.

Of the 10 communities with the highest median home prices, seven were in the Bay Area, including Cupertino, Danville, Los Gatos, San Carlos, Redwood City, San Ramon and San Mateo.

Of the 10 communities statewide with the greatest media price increases, five were in the Bay Area: Redwood City, San Ramon, Cupertino, San Carlos and Sunnyvale.