How low can this go?

October home sales blew through another barrier in the Sacramento County real estate market, as the median sales price fell below $200,000 for the first time since April 2002.

The reverse breakthrough – back to $195,000 – came exactly one year after the county's median sales price for new and existing homes combined fell below $300,000, according to MDA DataQuick statistics released Thursday. The median is that point at which half cost more and half cost less.

Three years of falling home values have now pushed median sales prices below $200,000 in three counties: Sacramento, Yuba and Sutter. Six years ago, news reports pointed to fast-rising sales prices in those counties "shattering" the $200,000 barrier.

The silver lining to the reversal of fortune: another strong month of home sales across the Sacramento region.

"I think the quest for a bargain has overpowered concerns about the economy and where the housing market might be next year," said MDA DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.

DataQuick reported that 4,201 homes changed hands in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. That was down from 4,369 sales in September.

October again broadened the momentum of a year that has seen seven straight months of sales higher than the same months of 2007. The strong performance also showed that buyers stayed in the game despite warnings of possible economic collapse by prominent Washington, D.C., officials throughout September. That's when buyers initiated the contracts that led to most of October's closings.

The sales burst – equaling levels last seen in the area in early 2006 – flies in the face of continued reports of banks refusing to lend, said Folsom real estate agent Mark Solich.

"If you have good credit and full documentation, the money is there," he said.

Statistics show 1,709 more closings last month than during October 2007.

Bank repossessions again accounted for the majority of home purchases, especially in Sacramento County, the largest sector of the region's real estate market. DataQuick said two-thirds of the county's sales involved bank repos.

"The bad news is there's a lot of foreclosures in the market. The good news is they're selling," said Pat Shea, Sacramento regional manager for Prudential California Realty. "Teachers, policemen, nurses – they can all buy houses now."

Analysts saw similar patterns in Los Angeles and the Bay Area as foreclosures have mounted across California. DataQuick said 51 percent of Southern California's October sales were bank repos. It was 45 percent in the Bay Area.

DataQuick's October highlights for new and existing homes combined:

• Sacramento County's $195,000 median price is 34.9 percent below October 2007 and 49.6 percent below its August 2005 high of $387,000.

• Placer County's $320,000 median sales price was 20.5 percent below the same time last year. The median is now 39 percent below the December 2005 high of $525,000.

• El Dorado County's $388,000 median is down 7.1 percent from a year ago. The county's sales price has slipped 27 percent from the March 2006 peak of $531,250.

• Yolo County's $279,750 median price is down 22.8 percent from October 2007. It slipped below $300,000 in September for the first time since January 2004. The county's median sales price is now 41 percent below the November 2005 high of $474,000.

• Yuba County's $175,000 median price in October was 34.5 percent below a year ago. It dipped below $200,000 in March for the first time since January 2004. The median price in the county has fallen 50.2 percent since its November 2005 high of $351,500.

• Sutter County's October median price was $183,000, down 29.7 percent from the same time last year. It dipped below $200,000 in May, August and September, a level not seen since January 2004. The county's median home price is now 46 percent below the December 2005 peak of $339,000.

• Nevada County's median price was $365,000, down 18.9 percent from last year. The price has fallen 27.1 percent from an October 2005 high of $501,000.

• Amador County saw October's median price dip to $250,000, down 27.5 percent from the same month in 2007. The median has fallen 41.2 percent from the May 2006 high of $425,000.

The number of homes for sale in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties also continued to fall in October. Sacramento-based TrendGraphix counted 10,879 for-sale signs in the four-county area. One in four are foreclosed properties.

Mike Lyon, head of Sacramento's Lyon Real Estate, attributed the falling inventory to "sellers giving up in a foreclosure-dominated market."

Call The Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102. Read his blog on real estate, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.