Real estate sales slow statewide

Real estate prices in Nevada County leveled a bit in midsummer, with the county median price for all single-family residences hitting $465,000 in July.

That's 1.4 percent more than a year before, but 3.5 percent less than the June median of $482,000, according to statistics released by DataQuick Information Systems Inc. in San Diego.



The statewide median for July was $475,000, DataQuick reported, up 5.3 percent from $451,000 a year before, but down slightly from June's median of $478,000.

Statewide, the number of homes sold in July fell to the slowest pace since 1996, down nearly 29 percent compared to July 2005.

In the Bay Area, where many local buyers come from, July's median price rose 3.5 percent to $606,000.

However, that price is 2.6 percent lower than the June median of $627,000.

In Southern California, another market that impacts foothill real estate, the pace of sales sagged for the eighth month in a row when comparing year-over-year numbers of houses sold.

The median price there hit $492,000, up 4.9 percent from July 2005 but down slightly from June's $493,000.

DataQuick President Marshall Prentice said the statewide slowdown may indicate that demand is leveling for houses at the current prices.

"If the market is indeed going into a lull, expect low sales and flat prices through fall and on into next year," Prentice said of the statewide picture.

"Whether July's data also signals something more ominous at work in the market - something that would cause a severe correction in home values - is unclear to us. We'll know a lot more in a few months," Prentice said.

DataQuick's reports are available online at www.dqnews.com.

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To contact Staff Writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.

Grass Valley remained the least costly area in the county. Median prices there rose to $395,000 in July, 4.2 percent over the median a year before.

The number of house and condominium sales recorded for July also declined to 114 from 141 recorded in June. Traditionally, sales drop from June to July.

In Placer County, the median price dropped 7 percent to $460,000, with 491 sales recorded in July.