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.”

Located at the northern end of the Bay Area in California, Marin has shown some major improvements in its real estate market throughout the past year.  The Bay Area has shown increases in both the number of home sales and median sales prices, and Marin has shown even greater improvements in its number of home sales, while falling just short of the average increase in median sales prices for the Bay Area.  Real estate experts have very optimistic views of the future of the Bay Area real estate market, as well as that of the Marin real estate, especially with incentives for prospective home buyers such as more affordable housing options, the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and an increase in the credit available for homebuyers.

According to DQNews.com, the Bay Area in California posted major improvements in its real estate market during the year of 2009, with home sales being the strongest seen in three years.  The Bay Area real estate was struggling prior to the economic recession that began in the fall of 2008, and the recession only worsened the real estate struggles that actually began in 2007.  The Bay Area posted a total of 7,828 new and resale house and condo sales, which was a 13.8 percent increase from that of the previous month and a 13.6 percent increase from that of the previous year.  Marin real estate posted an even greater increase in home sales between 2008 and 2009 by 60.6 percent.  The Bay Area’s median sales price increased by about 15.20 percent between December of 2008 and 2009, while Marin’s median sales price increased by a slightly smaller value of 12.90 percent during the same time period.

The Contra Costa Times also reported on the recent improvements in Marin’s real estate market through its increases in both its home sales and median sales price.  During December of 2009, Marin posted a median sales price of about $755,000 for a single family home, a 12 percent increase from the $675,000 average posted in December of 2008.  The median sales price for a condo in Marin was $319,500 in December, an increase from the $301,000 median from that of the previous year.