Alameda County 2009 Real Estate Market Trends

Home Sales Up Second Year in a Row

Sales of single-family, re-sale homes rose in Alameda County for the second year in a row, rising 29.4% from 2008. The 10,457 re-sale homes sold last year were better than any year since 2005.

Condo sales were up for the first time since 2003, rising 39.2%.

The lower end of the market took the brunt of the credit crunch and foreclosure crisis. Oakland and Hayward saw the median price drop precipitously, while Berkeley, Castro Valley and Dublin saw price declines, they were much less than the county as a whole. Piedmont, with the highest prices in the county, barley saw any price decline: 0.1%.

Alameda County
(Single Family Homes)
  Prices Other Percent Change
Average Median Sold DOM SP/LP Average Median Sold
County $445,561 $385,000 10,457 50 99.2% -19.1% -18.9% 29.4%
Alameda $633,806 $605,000 307 46 97.8% -8.6% -6.9% 7.3%
Albany $616,967 $600,000 84 41 100.5% -5.0% -8.4% 37.7%
Berkeley $731,490 $654,750 414 39 101.0% -10.3% -13.6% -4.4%
Castro Valley $481,203 $460,000 404 55 98.7% -13.6% -12.4% 16.1%
Dublin $610,715 $587,000 339 48 98.3% -7.7% -6.8% 30.9%
Emeryville $258,333 $240,000 3 62 96.5% -35.9% -40.4% 50.0%
Fremont $606,754 $540,000 1,198 46 98.0% -12.5% -12.9% 24.7%
Hayward $295,934 $260,000 1,448 52 101.7% -17.0% -20.0% 40.7%
Livermore $476,618 $425,000 842 51 98.5% -11.6% -12.3% 23.8%
Newark $392,963 $380,000 319 45 101.1% -14.9% -12.6% 23.2%
Oakland $302,269 $165,000 2,978 51 100.2% -33.5% -49.2% 48.2%
Piedmont $1,439,193 $1,231,000 75 44 96.4% -9.1% -0.1% 2.7%
Pleasanton $838,199 $676,750 538 59 95.3% -14.9% -15.4% 24.5%
San Leandro $348,464 $335,000 746 47 100.5% -10.8% -11.8% 13.5%
San Lorenzo $310,272 $313,500 283 46 103.6% -12.1% -10.4% 7.2%
Union City $452,880 $425,000 475 53 100.3% -13.1% -13.6% 44.8%

The story of the year was the economy. A rash of foreclosures resulting in a surge of bank-owned property, pushed prices down hard. Although sales were high, they would have been higher if the money was there. With the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market on Wall Street, banks have had to keep mortgage loans on their books, which means they are being, um, more responsible to whom they lend.

Alameda County
(Single Family Homes)
  Prices Other Percent Change
Average Median Sold DOM SP/LP Average Median Sold
1999 $329,249 $289,000 14,448 31 100.5%      
2000 $419,377 $363,800 13,796 21 103.5% 27.4% 25.9% -4.5%
2001 $446,291 $394,000 10,751 27 100.1% 6.4% 8.3% -22.1%
2002 $493,983 $435,000 13,101 26 100.4% 10.7% 10.4% 21.9%
2003 $520,771 $464,950 14,002 29 99.8% 5.4% 6.9% 6.9%
2004 $613,225 $550,000 13,519 21 102.2% 17.8% 18.3% -3.4%
2005 $720,669 $650,000 11,847 19 103.3% 17.5% 18.2% -12.4%
2006 $727,079 $650,000 10,220 28 100.0% 0.9% 0.0% -13.7%
2007 $751,487 $665,500 7,309 36 99.2% 3.4% 2.4% -28.5%

Alameda County
(Condominiums)
  Prices Other Percent Change
Average Median Sold DOM SP/LP Average Median Sold
1999 $197,514 $184,000 3,558 24 100.2%      
2000 $258,236 $242,000 3,638 18 102.7% 30.7% 31.5% 2.2%
2001 $297,630 $281,500 2,786 25 99.9% 15.3% 16.3% -23.4%
2002 $315,936 $299,000 3,520 26 99.9% 6.2% 6.2% 26.3%
2003 $333,076 $315,000 3,922 29 99.8% 5.4% 5.4% 11.4%
2004 $377,792 $360,000 3,864 18 102.2% 13.4% 14.3% -1.5%
2005 $458,379 $439,000 3,592 17 103.2% 21.3% 21.9% -7.0%
2006 $463,370 $440,000 3,160 32 99.8% 1.1% 0.2% -12.0%
2007 $460,923 $439,000 2,317 40 98.7% -0.5% -0.2% -26.7%

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DEFINITIONS

Median Price
Median Price is the price at which 50% of properties sold were above that price and 50% were below.
Average Price
Average Price is the sum of all prices divided by the number of sales.
DOM
Average Days on Market is calculated from when a property was first put on the market until it was put under contract, or taken off the market.
SP/LP
The average selling price divided by the average list price.