Bay Area Real Estate Sales.com Newsletter

December 2006

IN THIS ISSUE:

Marin Home Sales Statistics

Map Based Home Search Announced On Bay Area Real Estate Sales.Com

Bay Area Home Prices Decline, Sales At Five-Year Low

What Did Your Neighbors’ House Sell For?

Fed Holds Federal Funds Rate At 5.25 Percent

California Voters Concerned About State's Future

Best Mortgages In Today's Market

Most U.S. Housing Markets To Experience Sluggish Expansion In 2007

What Do Liz’s Clients Say?

Fast Facts

MARIN HOME SALES STATISTICS

I hope this holiday season finds you healthy and happy.  All my best wishes to you for a fabulous 2007!  These statistics show how many homes are available for sale in Marin, and of those how many are currently in contract (either pending or contingent.  For the 3rd month in a row, the Marin overall real estate market is in a “Buyers Market.”

Although there are considerably less homes on the market this month as compared to last month, there are still more than the previous December (898 compared to 622 in December 2005), the percentage of homes in contract went up slightly (very slightly).  My feeling is that many of the homes that did not sell have been pulled from the market, anticipating the slower months during the holiday season, or to possibly restart the Days on Market clock for that house trying to regenerate interest.   As I predicted from last month, many homes have been pulled from the market during the typically slower Holiday months.

Homes priced from $500,000 to $999,999 are actually on the verge of being in a Balanced Market this month.  The highest priced homes, (Over $4M are still in an Extreme Buyers Market,   I interpret this to means that the “less expensive” homes (if there is such a thing in Marin) are finally selling at a faster clip, which is probably influenced by Feds stabilizing influence on the interest rates.

Like last month, Larkspur is still in a Strong Sellers Market, where 47% of all listed Larkspur homes are in contract.  If you want to sell your Larkspur home, this is the time!   Corte Madera and Greenbrae are in a Balanced Market; Belvedere, Fairfax, Kentfield, Mill Valley, Novato, san Anselmo, San Rafael and Tiburon are all in a “Buyers Market.”  Ross and Sausalito are all in a “Strong Buyers” Market. 

Days on Market (DOM):  The Average DOM actually decreased this month– 78 days – A lot of this reflects that a lot of listed homes were pulled for the holidays.  This means that it is taking an average of 2.5 months for houses to go into a PENDING status.  A note of clarity:  This does NOT mean when the house goes into contract (as it is still in a contingent state).  The DOM clicker is stopped when all contingencies are removed, which is not entirely accurate at tracking how long it takes to get a house into contract.   For example, a seller may have a house go into contract just 1 or 2 weeks after it is first listed, but with a long contingency period (say 45 days).  This would mean that the DOM would show almost 2 months for that house to sell, whereas it was generally off the market after only a few weeks.

And for those of you who do read these stats, I’d love to know that you find the information useful!  It actually takes me quite a lot of time to track, compile and post the data each month – and I’d love to know that it is being utilized!  Send me an email to let me know you like getting it!

I’m always searching for ways to bring my clients and readers more local real estate statistics.   I’m pleased to announce the launch of my new stats service: More Marin Stats  There are a lot of great stats here for your viewing pleasure.  Once you click on the above link, be sure to mouse over the text near the top that says “Marin Statistics”.  You can drill down the stats by year, month and by City.    Enjoy.  I’d love to hear your feed back if you like this new service!

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this monthly newsletter or is thinking of either buying or selling a home please let me know.   I’d love your referrals!

**Based on information from Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS).   Information has not been verified, is not guaranteed, and is subject to change and is based on one period of time.”

***Includes all: Sale Pending & Contingent properties

FREE…..You can search for Marin listings directly on BayAreaRealEstateSales.com:  Search for Homes

MAP BASED HOME SEARCH ANNOUNCED ON BAY AREA REAL ESTATE SALES.COM

We’ve added a new map based home search on BayAreaRealEstateSales.com  This will allow you to search in any particular area via map,  narrow down the specific homes that are available in that area.  You can then view specific home sale details like pictures, square footage and price.  I hope you like this new feature – be sure to give me any feedback! Map Based Marin Home Search

BAY AREA HOME PRICES DECLINE, SALES AT FIVE-YEAR LOW

DQnews.com

La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home prices dipped below year-ago levels in November for the second time in three months as sales held steady at a five-year low, a real estate information service reported.

The median price paid for a home in the nine-county Bay Area was $616,000 in November. That was 0.3 percent higher than $614,000 in October but down 1.4 percent from $625,000 in November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Last month's year-over-year decline was the steepest since prices fell 2.1 percent in February 2002. In September this year the median fell 0.8 percent from last year, marking the first annual decline since March 2002, when prices declined 1.3 percent. In October this year the median went positive slightly, up 0.5 percent from a year ago.

Last month's median was 4.3 percent below the $644,000 June peak. Much of the drop is seasonal: summer buyers pay around 3 percent more for their homes than those who purchase between November and February.

"Right now it looks like the Bay Area market is settling in on a price level that could last until spring. What happens after that depends on broader economic factors including interest rates, job growth and household incomes. As prices stabilize and sellers get real about asking prices, a lot of the fence-sitters will jump in. We could see a moderate increase in sales counts," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

A total of 7,204 new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month. That was down 9.7 percent from 7,979 sales in October, and down 25.9 percent from 9,717 in November last year. A decline from October to November is normal for the season.

Last month's sales count was the lowest for any November since 2001, when 6,644 homes sold. Since 1988, November sales have ranged from 5,579 in 1994 to 10,897 in 2004. The average is 7,725.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $2,865 last month. That was down from $2,901 in October, and down from $2,921 for November a year ago. It peaked in June at $3,183. Adjusted for inflation, mortgage payments are 12.9 percent higher than they were at the peak of the prior cycle in early 1990.

Indicators of market distress are still at a moderate level. Financing with adjustable-rate mortgages is flat. Foreclosure activity is rising but is still within the normal range. Down payment sizes are stable, as are flipping rates and non-owner occupied buying activity, DataQuick reported.