San Francisco, Bay Area home prices fall for first time in a year

Bay Area home prices fell in October for the first time since last year, according to a report.

Prices have fallen as unemployment and the end of certain tax incentives have made home purchases decline, according to an MDA DataQuick report

In San Francisco, prices dropped by 5.6 percent to an average of $652,000 and sales fell 21 percent, according to Bloomberg News

For the Bay Area, the median sale price of a home fell 1.8 percent from October 2009 to $383,000, marking the first year-over-year decline in 13 months, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Median prices dropped to $383,000 from $395,000 in September. Sales last month were down nearly 30 percent at 6,100 homes from average October sales of nearly 8,700 homes.

Home prices fell in seven of nine Bay Area counties, with a 15 percent drop in Napa to a median of $307,000. Solano saw a 5.4 percent price gain to $205,500 and Santa Clara County prices rose by 0.5 percent to $502,500.

Statewide, home sales fell 21 percent from last year to 32,669 in October. The median price for a home was $256,000 last month, down 3.4 percent from September with little difference from last year.

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