Solano Home Prices Dip From Year Ago

Solano Home Prices Dip From Year Ago
By Alex Veiga/AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES - Home sales slowed last month in a nine-county swath around San Francisco Bay, with the median price increasing only slightly from a year ago, a real estate research firm said Wednesday. Four counties, including Solano, saw annual price declines, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The biggest drop occurred in Sonoma County, where the median home price fell 6.3 percent to $523,000.

Solano County saw a 5.1 percent drop to $449,000; San Mateo registered a 1.2 percent decline to $730,000; and Contra Costa saw a 0.2 percent drop to $572,000.

In all, 7,488 houses and condominiums were sold in the region, down 19.9 percent from December 2005 and up 3.9 percent from November 2005. The last time fewer homes were sold in the region in December was 1996. In Solano County, 588 homes were sold last month, equating to a nearly 24 percent year-over-year decline.

The median home price for the combined counties last month was $612,000, up 0.5 percent from $609,000 in the year-ago period.

The median home price for the region peaked in June at $664,000, DataQuick said.