| Trends at a Glance | |||
| (Single-family Homes) | |||
| Feb 10 | Jan 10 | Feb 09 | |
| Median Price: | $410,500 | $380,000 | $321,250 |
| Average Price: | $461,865 | $440,039 | $384,341 |
| Home Sales: | 564 | 584 | 606 |
| Sale/List Price Ratio: | 100.6% | 100.4% | 97.1% |
| Days on Market: | 46 | 43 | 60 |
The Fed plans to stop buying mortgage-backed securities the end of March.
The general consensus among mortgage brokers is rates will have to rise to attract new buyers of MBS if the Fed does stop buying. After reaching a low last November, the rate for 30-year fixed mortgages has already risen .25%-.375% in anticipation.
The only MBS that are being sold right now are those that are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because they are backed by the U. S. government, at least for loans up to $729,000 in our area.
The question becomes, who is going to buy MBS and at what price?
With money market and treasuries yielding between 1%-2%, MBS are looking much more attractive to Wall Street, private investors and foreign governments.
But, at some point, the Fed will have to start selling their MBS which will drive prices down and yields up.
Local mortgage brokers expect rates to rise one-half point fairly quickly after the Fed stops buying. Many think mortgage rates will hit 6% by the end of the year.
That said, the biggest problem facing the local market right now is lack of quality inventory: quality meaning priced right and in the best neighborhoods.
From all accounts, there is a lot of pent-up demand, especially in the entry-level market. Bank-owned property and private, re-sale homes properly priced are still receiving multiple offers.
The move-up tax credit of $6,500 has had little impact on the market because so few people can take advantage of it. First, anyone that is upside down on their mortgage won’t be taking a loss to gain only $6,500. Second, if you’re still working and have equity, why would you sell only to see your property taxes rise?
About the only people who will take advantage of this tax credit are seniors who are retired. They can take advantage of propositions 13, 60, and 90 to downsize yet retain their property tax base if they move within the same county or to a reciprocating county. For more information about eligibility and a list of reciprocating counties, see: http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/faqs/propositions60_90.htm
The high-end market has problems with appraisals, if you need a loan, and we’re beginning to see a few foreclosures in that market.
Remember, the real estate market is a matter of neighborhoods and houses. No two are the same. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or property, call me.
The median price for single-family, re-sale homes gained 5% in February from January, and it was up 27.8% year-over-year. This is the sixth month in a row the median price has been higher than the year before. Not only that, but each month the percentage has increased: 1.2%, 3.9%, 12.2%, 12.3%, 16.9% and 27.8%.
Home sales were down 6.9% year-over-year.
Condo sales were up 18.9% year-over-year. The median price for condos rose 3.2% compared to January, but was off 9% year-over-year.
The sales price to list price ratio, or the price paid for a home compared to the asking price rose 0.2 of a point to 100.6%. This is the fifth month in a row the ratio has been at or over 100%. The ratio for condos fell 0.3 of a point to 99.6%.
Days on market for homes rose three days to 46 days. Days on market for condos was down nine days to 40 days.
The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or property, call me.
If I can help you devise a strategy, call or click the buying or selling link in the menu to the left.
Complete monthly sales statistics for the Alameda County are below. Monthly graphs are available for each city in the county.
| February Sales Statistics | |||||||||||
| (Single-family Homes) | |||||||||||
| Prices | Unit | Change from last year | Change from last month | ||||||||
| Area | Median | Average | Sales | DOM | SP/LP | Median | Average | Sales | Median | Average | Sales |
| County | $410,500 | $461,865 | 564 | 46 | 100.6% | 27.8% | 20.2% | -6.9% | 5.0% | 8.0% | -3.4% |
| Alameda | $610,000 | $622,769 | 13 | 86 | 101.7% | 4.3% | 0.4% | -38.1% | -14.6% | 15.1% | 30.0% |
| Albany | $652,800 | $652,800 | 2 | 37 | 104.5% | 23.2% | 23.2% | 100.0% | 39.4% | 45.6% | -66.7% |
| Berkeley | $555,000 | $635,049 | 22 | 35 | 99.6% | -27.2% | -13.2% | 22.2% | -17.4% | -9.2% | 22.2% |
| Castro Valley | $515,000 | $519,576 | 25 | 83 | 98.8% | 23.2% | 22.4% | 0.0% | 13.3% | 16.9% | 4.2% |
| Dublin | $482,000 | $558,575 | 16 | 19 | 100.6% | -11.1% | -5.7% | 6.7% | -9.4% | -21.0% | -15.8% |
| Fremont | $570,000 | $612,307 | 79 | 44 | 99.4% | 16.3% | 1.9% | 61.2% | -0.4% | 2.9% | 23.4% |
| Hayward | $289,500 | $331,366 | 80 | 47 | 103.9% | 5.2% | 8.7% | -23.1% | 5.8% | 3.0% | -12.1% |
| Livermore | $505,500 | $552,449 | 53 | 47 | 99.5% | 26.7% | 26.1% | 12.8% | 2.6% | 17.8% | 20.5% |
| Newark | $401,500 | $399,077 | 18 | 42 | 102.4% | 13.1% | 3.6% | 28.6% | -1.3% | 2.9% | 0.0% |
| Oakland | $179,000 | $288,400 | 145 | 52 | 101.6% | 30.7% | 34.7% | -25.3% | 2.5% | 4.8% | -7.1% |
| Piedmont | $1,303,256 | $1,134,752 | 3 | 12 | 119.5% | -16.6% | -32.0% | -25.0% | 5.7% | 14.8% | -25.0% |
| Pleasanton | $746,500 | $951,192 | 30 | 42 | 95.9% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 76.5% | 19.5% | 6.6% | -18.9% |
| San Leandro | $339,000 | $355,645 | 44 | 33 | 102.7% | 5.1% | 1.8% | -15.4% | 3.8% | -0.3% | 7.3% |
| San Lorenzo | $335,000 | $318,088 | 17 | 29 | 101.1% | 8.5% | 5.6% | -22.7% | -1.5% | 4.7% | -19.0% |
| Union City | $485,000 | $531,397 | 17 | 29 | 102.7% | 12.8% | 14.4% | -26.1% | 25.4% | 19.6% | -43.3% |
| February Sales Statistics | |||||||||||
| (Condos/Town Homes) | |||||||||||
| Prices | Unit | Change from last year | Change from last month | ||||||||
| Median | Average | Sales | DOM | SP/LP | Median | Average | Sales | Median | Average | Sales | |
| County | $247,500 | $266,526 | 170 | 40 | 99.6% | -9.0% | 0.3% | 18.9% | 0.7% | 3.2% | -8.1% |
| Alameda | $330,000 | $315,303 | 6 | 23 | 99.2% | 3.1% | -1.5% | 200.0% | -11.8% | -12.7% | -14.3% |
| Albany | $391,250 | $391,250 | 2 | 25 | 96.6% | 7.9% | 8.4% | -50.0% | 70.1% | 70.1% | 0.0% |
| Berkeley | $593,000 | $593,000 | 2 | 47 | 100.9% | 37.9% | 37.9% | 100.0% | 63.6% | 63.6% | 0.0% |
| Castro Valley | $0 | $0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dublin | $347,500 | $366,243 | 16 | 50 | 100.3% | 5.0% | 15.8% | 14.3% | -0.8% | -0.7% | 23.1% |
| Emeryville | $278,500 | $271,356 | 9 | 48 | 100.0% | -29.9% | -32.4% | 125.0% | 4.9% | 7.9% | 80.0% |
| Fremont | $274,000 | $320,917 | 30 | 41 | 100.8% | 21.2% | 29.6% | 11.1% | 3.8% | -5.5% | 20.0% |
| Hayward | $152,000 | $172,935 | 27 | 33 | 103.7% | -10.6% | -10.3% | 28.6% | -2.7% | -11.9% | -25.0% |
| Livermore | $99,000 | $155,222 | 9 | 49 | 95.3% | -64.4% | -41.3% | -10.0% | -29.1% | -53.7% | -25.0% |
| Newark | $230,000 | $215,000 | 5 | 43 | 95.2% | -6.1% | -4.0% | 66.7% | -8.4% | 4.5% | -16.7% |
| Oakland | $253,500 | $245,417 | 32 | 42 | 97.5% | -18.8% | -14.6% | 0.0% | -22.1% | -11.1% | -13.5% |
| Pleasanton | $285,000 | $334,000 | 7 | 86 | 99.4% | -17.4% | -10.3% | 40.0% | -9.3% | -32.3% | -12.5% |
| San Leandro | $143,500 | $174,000 | 6 | 23 | 94.0% | -26.4% | -21.6% | -14.3% | -5.0% | -16.0% | -62.5% |
| Union City | $228,000 | $243,000 | 13 | 30 | 99.1% | 7.8% | 14.1% | 30.0% | 8.3% | 4.3% | -7.1% |
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