A Daily Shot of News

An unincorporated community in San Diego County, 4S Ranch, California, is east of Santa Fe Valley and home to some high-profile residents, like pro sports stars. The community has miles of paths and trails connecting it to shops, parks and schools, attracting those looking for a more secluded lifestyle, and leading 4S Ranch real estate to be rather expensive since it is in high demand but with only a limited supply.

In March, according to the San Diego Union Tribute Zip Code Real Estate Chart, there were 26 resell homes sold in 4S Ranch, and the homes were sold for a median price of $720,000, up 2.9% from a year prior. The market for resell condos in the community was much more robust: There were 20 condos sold in the community during March at a median price of $311,000, an improvement of 54.5% year-over-year.

The median price per square foot in March of 4S Ranch homes for sale was $239 per square foot, up 8.3% from just $221 per square foot in 2009. The price per square foot for condos saw an annual improvement as well. It stood at $262 per square foot, up 13.7% from March 2009, when it was just $231 per square foot.

For all of the year 2009, 4S Ranch saw 342 resell single-family homes sold, at a median price of $700,000, down a slight 6.7% year-over-year. There were 243 condo sales on the year at a median price of $288,000, up 2.9% from the previous year, and there were even 124 sales of new homes, which came in at a median price of $539,000, down 11.1% annually. All total, there were 709 residential properties sold in 4S Ranch, and altogether they had a median price of $510,000, down nearly 18% from the end of 2008, showing that the year 2010 has left plenty of room for the market to improve and rebound from 2009.

The Sacramento real estate market is facing mixed signals as signs indicate that the nationwide economic recession may finally be coming to a close. One positive indicator is a recent drop in foreclosures, according to a February 16, 2010 article in the Sacramento Business Journal. The piece noted that “Notices of default declined in the four-county region last month, but the number of banks who received the keys to homes increased compared to a year ago, according to a report released Tuesday.” The article continued to detail that “The county had 1,574 notices of default last month, compared to 1,438 in December and 2,138 in January 2009. The activity on notices of trustee sale dipped to 1,417 last month, just eight fewer than a year ago.”

Sacramento homes for sale are going for less money lately, according to a February 23, 2010 article, which noted that “Home prices increased for the seventh-consecutive month in December, the latest evidence that the badly battered housing market is at least attempting to get off the mat.” The piece, published in the Sacramento Business Journal, continued to state that “Sacramento-area’s median home price is about 30 percent lower than its peak four years ago, according to the California Association of Realtors. However, the amount of decline depends on the community and even the neighborhood.”

A second study, this one conducted by MDA Data Quick, confirmed this ambiguous news for Sacramento real estate for sale. The analysis, published in the Sacramento Business Journal on February 19, 2010, noted that “Home prices that had appeared to stabilize in Sacramento County last year fell significantly from December to January, although they matched the prices from a year ago, according to figures released Thursday from analyst MDA DataQuick.” The article, composed by Michael Shaw, further found that “The median sales price in Sacramento County for homes of all types, including newly built ones, was $165,000 in January, down from $178,000 in December. In January of last year, the median price was also $165,000…The company reported that sales totaled 2,168 homes in the four-county region, down from 2,524 homes the previous January.”

In October 2008, the median home price of homes sold in San Jose, California was $490,100. This is down from $495,000 in September and $600,000 back in July. This is significantly lower than the median home price of $737,000 in October 2007.  The number of homes sold has increased dramatically from as few as 191 in February 2008 to as many as 515 homes sold during the month of October 2008.

Since this summer, the number of homes for sale in San Jose has fallen but it’s still up on a year over year basis. As of October 2008, the number of homes for sale in San Jose was over 3,537 compared to a high of 3,951 homes for sale in July of this year. In October 2007, there were only 3,129 homes for sale.

The increase in the number of sales and the decrease in the median home price can be credited to the fact that banks have lowered the asking prices for foreclosures they are trying to sell. Currently, foreclosures make up a large percentage of monthly home sales and these have caused the median home price to drop. An increase in the number of homes for sale, similar to what we saw over the summer, also caused a decrease in home prices in most cases.

So, the question in everyone’s mind is “have we hit the bottom?” The answer is No. Although, that depends on what type of house you want and where in San Jose you are looking to buy – which will be the subject of another article.

Please do keep in mind that the statistics above are from M.L.S Listings Inc, and account only the homes sold through this multiple listing service. These statistics are only for single family residences and do not take condominiums or other property types into account.

Real estate experts throughout the Midwest are optimistic that the end of the real estate struggle in the region is soon over.  Although median home prices are still generally below previous years levels, many major real estate markets are starting to post significant year over year gains in home sales.  The Des Moines real estate market has posted the largest of those gains.  Des Moines real estate experts are reporting that the real estate in Des Moines has improved greatly due to the first time home-buyers tax credit, as well as historically low interest rates and a large inventory of affordable housing options.

The New York Times reported that the Midwest has proven to be one of the most successful markets with significant improvements seen over the past few months.  The National Association of Realtors said that as of November, there were 111,000 home sales in the Midwest, up 26 percent from October of 2008.  The median sales price for the region has increased by 1 percent to $146,000, though many markets are still experiencing slight declines.  October experienced the largest jump in home sales, which many realtors attribute to the initial deadline of the federal tax credit and the favorable market conditions compared to that of the previous year.  The New York Times also noted that Des Moines led the Midwest with the largest increase in home sales.  Real estate in Des Moines posted a 39 percent rise in the number of home sales from a year ago.  However, the median sales price declined by about 5 percent to $144,000.  Real estate experts in Des Moines say that the federal tax credit has been a major factor in the improvement of the Des Moines real estate market over the past few months.

The Des Moines Register also noted the 39 percent jump in home sales in Des Moines.  Realtors reported that most homebuyers are trying to take advantage of the federal tax credit.  The number of homes sold between the $100,000 and $175,000 range has increased by 50 percent compared to that of a year ago.  Most experts believe that home sales will increase slightly in the coming weeks as the new deadline for the federal tax credit draws closer.

Real estate experts feel that the light at the end of the tunnel may be visible for the San Francisco real estate market.  After its struggles began back in 2007, and worsened as a result of the recession of 2008, the Bay Area real estate has been plagued by median prices and home sales well below peak levels experienced in prior years.  After struggling to show any signs of improvement over the past year, San Francisco is beginning to post improvements in the market with the first rise in median home prices since 2007 and slight increases in home sales.  Many real estate experts believe that the real estate in San Francisco has hit bottom and is poised to rebound for a full recovery.

According to Bloomberg, realtors in San Francisco have posted an increase in Bay Area home prices for the first time since 2007, primarily due to the smaller number of foreclosed or distressed properties sold.  The median price for new and resale houses and condos in San Francisco increased 6.8 percent from September of 2009 and 4 percent from October of 2008 to $390,000.  The number of Bay Area homes sold also rose 4.2 percent to about 8,000.  Realtors said that about 36 percent of home sales were priced over $500,000, up from the 23 percent seen in January of this year.  Foreclosures also made up only 32 percent of all sales, the lowest since June 2008, which is the primary reason for the increase in the median home price.

DQNews.com also reported the improvements of the San Francisco real estate market, offering hope for the near future of the San Francisco real estate market. DQNews.com commented that November marked the first month that the rise in the median price resulted in a year over year gain, which was the first year over year gain since November 2007.  Jumbo loans, which are mortgages above $417,000 also increased to make up 30.1 percent of all home sales made in the previous month, which was up 29.6 percent from September and up 25.9 percent from a year ago, suggesting that the credit crisis is coming to an end.

Sacramento is another choice and is the capital of the state and the seat of Sacramento County.  There is a population around 500,000 people. In addition to being a very important city, it is also considered a cultural and economic center. It has been voted one of the 10 best regions for living anywhere in the country.

If you are interested in a Sacramento Real Estate then contact a real estate broker.

Real estate experts have great expectations for the future of the real estate market in Bainbridge and the surrounding area.  Located near Seattle, Bainbridge Island has shown promising signs of a recovering real estate market, giving experts optimistic views of the region’s future real estate market.  Many real estate markets in and around Seattle have already begun to post year over year gains compared to that of the previous year, and markets have also held strong during the beginning of the fourth quarter, a period when the Seattle real estate market has a tendency to drop.  As of July, the region has maintained year over year gains, which ended a 37 consecutive month period of annual sales declines.

According to DQNews.com, the Seattle region has surprisingly held strong between the months of August and September, a period when the real estate market tends to experience a dip in sales.  Most of the home sales in the region are below $200,000 purchases, with $300,000 remaining as the median sales price for the third consecutive month.  About 18.3 percent of all sales made in September were of homes priced below $200,000.  On the other end, about 84 new and resale houses and condos were sold for $1 million or more in September.  During September, about 3,800 new and resale houses and condos were sold, which was almost identical to the number of sales posted during the previous month.  However, it was a 5.5 percent gain over the 3,600 sales made in September of 2008.

The Bainbridge Island Review has also reported the recent success of the Bainbridge Island real estate market.  Despite its struggles shortly after the recession of 2008 began, realtors in the area have reported that many potential home buyers on Bainbridge Island and in Western Washington are beginning to re-enter the real estate market.  In Kitsap County, the number of home sales increased by 55.6 percent compared to that of last year.  Although the inventory of Bainbridge Island homes for sale is still relatively small, many of these homes are still being sold at discounted prices.  The median home price on Bainbridge Island is $795,000, down $845,000 from July of 2008.