Prices for homes here in San Francisco have dropped from preposterous to merely ridiculous -- and, as a result, sales are up. Way up.
In December, 19.7 percent more homebuyers took the plunge than one month earlier. The December 2008 sales numbers represented a 36 percent leap from December 2007 sales (6,889 sales as opposed to 5,065 in San Francisco and eight surrounding counties). Those who lost their homes to foreclosures are advised to remove the stains left by their salty tears on the hardwood floors -- it devalues them.
The Bay Area's median home price is now $330,000, down from $587,500 just last year.
"It would be wrong to say that Bay Area home values are half of what they were a year and a half ago,'' said John Walsh, president of MDA DataQuick which compiled these numbers. "We're figuring that maybe half of the decline in median is a market-mix issue, and the rest a drop in value.''
We're not sure what that's supposed to mean. But if it's meant to put a happy face on a precipitous decline in home values (brought about by foreclosure sales, no less) -- well, good luck with that.
