Home prices in the Bay Area are the highest they've been in four years. Research firm DataQuick announced today the median price for Bay area homes was $429,000 in September. That's up 17.5 percent from September last year.

You've got more demand this year," said Dataquick analyst Andrew LePage, "thanks in large part to low interest rates chasing fewer homes for sale. So, the inventory's thin. Demand is up and there's still plenty of talk about sales people could sell more homes if they just had more to sell.

LePage says high-end homes are selling faster, while foreclosure resales have slowed.