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DANVILLE, Calif. (KCBS) -- Buyers who were brave enough to dive into the market for a bargain-priced house helped provide a modest boost to sales last month across the country and in some parts of the Bay Area.
In Danville, realtors described the housing market as a "feeding frenzy". They say inventory is disappearing quickly for any home priced below $725,000. Realtor Jim Walberg recently bought a home that had six offers. It closed escrow in two days.
Nationwide, sales of inexpensive foreclosures and other distressed low-end properties have also sparked bidding wars in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami. But the market for high-end properties is at a virtual standstill, mainly because it remains difficult to get a mortgage for expensive homes.
KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports
In San Francisco, properties listed for $1 million and above are languishing on the market. "That's where we're really feeling the pinch," said Ben Coleman, owner of Century 21 Hartford Properties.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million in April from a downward revised pace of 4.55 million in March. Sales were 4.6 percent below April last year, without adjusting for seasonal factors.
Compared with January, the lowest point in the housing recession, April sales were up nearly 4 percent. But compared with the peak in September 2005, sales are still down 35 percent.
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