My Home Advise

The Atherton real estate market, a portion of the larger San Mateo and Silicon Valley real estate markets, showed a trend towards stabilization and growth in recent months. According to a May 20, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “In San Mateo County, the median price of houses sold in April was $638,000, up 16 percent from a year earlier and down 9 percent from March. The median marks the halfway mark, meaning half the homes sold in April cost less than the median figure, and half cost more.” The piece, composed by Sue McAllister, went on to say that “The number of houses sold in San Mateo County rose 21 percent from April 2009, with 442 houses changing hands…Vicki Moore, an Alain Pinel agent in San Mateo, agreed, saying that homes in the $500,000 price range in San Mateo County ‘are getting snapped up pretty fast.’”

The effect of San Mateo foreclosures on Atherton homes for sale likely diminished in the months of May and April, as they showed a strong decline in the most recent tracking figures. According to a May 11, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “Foreclosure filings in San Mateo County tumbled 25 percent last month compared to the same time last year, a sign the worst of the housing crisis has passed, according to a report released Tuesday.” The piece, written by Sue McAllister, went on to say that “April marked the third time in five months that default notices declined compared to their year-earlier levels, according to data from ForeclosureRadar, a Discovery Bay company. A total of 327 notices of default were filed in San Mateo County in April, down 25 percent from April 2009, and down 18 percent from March 2010.”

Atherton real estate, along with nearby Santa Clara and surrounding San Mateo counties, may have hit a bottom in terms of home prices, which would increase the likelihood of a continued rebound. According to a May 10, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “In San Mateo County, home values in the first quarter were flat compared with a year earlier, and the median estimated value was $638,800.”

The El Dorado Hills real estate market, an outlying portion of the Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area market, has been facing continued difficulties in the first half of the 2010 fiscal year. According to a June 3, 2010 article from the Central Valley Business Times, “The rate that families are losing their homes to foreclosure is easing in some parts of the Central Valley, especially where the mortgage meltdown came first and was the most ferocious, according to figures Thursday from real estate information company CoreLogic of Santa Ana.” The piece went on to note that, in a more negative development for the narrower Sacramento region “Foreclosure rates in the Sacramento metropolitan statistical area, which includes the Arden-Arcade and Roseville areas, increased in April over the same period last year, according to CoreLogic.”

The number of El Dorado Hills homes for sale which actually went into escrow declined in the month of April along with the rest of the Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to a May 20, 2010 article from the Sacramento Business Journal, “Home sales in the four-county Sacramento region were slightly lower in April than the same month last year, according to figures released Thursday from real estate information company MDA DataQuick.” The piece, written by Michael Shaw, went on to say that “There were 2,873 home sales of all types, including new homes, and existing homes and condos, in April compared with 3,036 sales a year ago, the company reported. Home prices remained relatively unchanged from a year ago, with Sacramento County prices 4.5 percent higher than a year ago at a median $172,500. Placer County median prices were at $287,000 in April, down 2.7 percent, while El Dorado prices were down 4.5 percent to $300,000.”

Foreclosures in the El Dorado Hills region spiked considerably in the month of April, according to a May 11, 2010 report on All Things Considered. This piece noted that “Foreclosures increased 46 percent in April, compared to a year earlier with almost 1,800 homes going back to lenders or sold at auction in the Sacramento region. Foreclosures.com says Sacramento County accounted for almost half of those foreclosed homes, with Elk Grove, North Natomas, and south Sacramento among the hardest-hit communities. But El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties also had more foreclosures last month than a year ago.”