My Home Advise

The San Bruno real estate market, a subsidiary and large component of the Bay Area real estate market, faced mixed signals today, with prices and sales moving in opposite directions and foreclosures shifting to different sectors of the market. According to a May 20, 2010 article in the Contra Costa Times, “Bay Area home sales in April were down slightly from a year ago while the median sales price rose sharply. The sales slowdown was tied to some buyers delaying escrow until May 1 to get a bigger home-buying tax break.” The piece, which was written by Eve Mitchell, continued to say that “A total of 7,003 new and existing single-family houses and condominiums closed escrow last month, up 0.2 percent from March, but down 1.9 percent from a year ago, said the MDA DataQuick report released Thursday. The slowdown in home sales stems from more people delaying escrow until May to obtain a state tax credit as well as a reduced inventory of homes for sale, which helps push up prices, observers say.”

The average price of a pre-existing San Bruno home for sale rallied strongly in the month of April, according to a May 21, 2010 article in the San Francisco Chronicle. This piece noted that “Median resale home prices in the Bay Area rose 30 percent in April compared with the prior year, in a market that featured few foreclosures and more activity in higher end neighborhoods, according to a real estate report released Thursday.” The article, written by Robert Selna, continued to note that “Meanwhile, the total number of homes resold in the Bay Area – that is, not newly constructed – fell slightly year-over-year as the higher-priced sales activity could not offset declines in the more affordable areas, according to data analyzed by MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm that produces monthly market updates.”

San Bruno foreclosures were shifting to wealthier parts of the city, according to a June 1, 2010 article from the San Francisco Chronicle. This piece, written by Carolyn Said, noted that “Foreclosures are going upscale across the Bay Area…A significant share of high-end foreclosures were valued above $1 million.”