Just as in the capital region, home sales in the Bay Area, California and the nation eased in February, but strong demand kept prices higher than a year ago. Several independent home sales reports released Monday suggest the nation's economic slowdown has yet to undermine the housing sector.
Lower rates help buyers qualify for bigger mortgages.
Moreover, the inventory of resale homes on the market remains tight statewide, which restrains sales activity but puts upward pressure on prices. Bay Area home sales in February fell nearly 16 percent compared with last year's record level that month, DataQuick Information Systems reported Monday. DataQuick noted that while Bay Area sales activity fell last month, the number of closed escrows was still about 10 percent above the average for February over the past 10 years. It could be that some investment money is being moved from the stock market into real estate. Players in the capital region's real estate industry watch Bay Area trends closely, saying that historically they've been a harbinger of trends in the capital region.