Lennar Corporation, a nationwide builder based out of Florida, has annuounced that they will now install solar power systems on all homes built in the Bay Area, beginning with their new subdivision, Milano in San Ramon. This is the result of a partnership with the California Energy Commission, which is attempting to make homes highly energy efficient.

Lennar and SunPower are part of the New Solar Homes Partnership, launched by the California Energy Commission, a 10-year, $350 million program that encourages the use of solar power in new residential home construction.

Under the partnership, the energy commission will work with developers and builders to create a self-sustaining market in which home buyers demand highly energy-efficient solar homes.

The program specifically targets the single-family, low-income and multifamily markets. Builders and developers can earn incentives for installing qualifying solar electric systems on new residential buildings served by Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Bear Valley Electric utilities.

Centex, another large national builder, has been offering energy efficient solar power systems on their homes, including the homes currently being offered at Avignon in Pleasanton, as well as in Livermore.

Pleasanton is at the forefront of incorporating Green guidelines into their building codes, helping to push builders to build homes that will be more energy efficient and eco-friendly. Other cities, including Dublin, are also active in embracing this trend.

The ultimate question is… how much more are home buyers willing to pay to buy solar powered energy efficient homes?

Read the whole article here.

Statistics released for the the 4th quarter show that the San Francisco - Oakland - Fremont metro area, which includes Pleasanton and the Tri-Valley, has the nation’s second highest median home price at $733,500. The San Jose - Sunnyvale - Santa Clara had the nation’s most expensive median home price, comming in at $760,000. This is confirmation that while home prices here have slid in the last year and a half, they have held up relatively well as compared to national prices. The median home price is a statistical average for homre prices in a given area.

A funny thing happened on the way to the real estate bubble burst party… it has been cancelled. The real estate market in the greater bay area has shown surprising strength early this year, and some (cautious) renewed optimism seems to be seeping in. Inventories are for the most part low, and the sense is that many buyers who were sitting on the fence waiting for prices to drop have been entering the market. Locally in the Tri-Valley, the low end of the market, which had previously been soft, has shown surprising strength in the early going. The mid range has also showed strength early on, while the luxury market segment is still largely limping along. Here is a snapshot of some other bay area markets

South Bay. Moderate inventory with a noticeable pick up in activity. The low end of the market is still seeing some softness in pricing, but it appears that the major price erosion is over.. at least for now. Certainly better market conditions than last summer/fall. The upper end of the market is picking up, and the last 3 weeks or so has seen renewed optimism and strength in the market. Not a hot market, but not soft and declining at this point either

Penninsula. What can you say? They broke the mold when they created this real estate market. And at the moment it is HOT HOT HOT. Palo Alto, Menlo Park & Atherton are sizzling. Witness a house in Menlo Park priced at $1,090,000. 47 offers later, it sold for $1,500,000. Or another listing in Menlo Park listed at $999,000 (an entry level house to be sure). Had 12 offers and sold for $1,250,000. Strong demand (as usual) and limited supply…. oh yes, the good ‘ol supply and demand. Stop me if you have heard this tune before.

Tracy/Manteca.. Soft conditions and inflated inventory. Definitely a buyer’s market. And with over 20,000 building permits outstanding in Manteca alone, don’t expect this market to recover any time soon. The good news is that you can buy a great new home for bargain prices, especially when compared to the bay area. The bad news is that when it is time to sell, the buyers can still buy a great brand new home for bargain prices. The valley will likely be the last market to recover, and it seems like it has a ways to go.

The Federal Reserve Board, that mysterious panel of rich bankers who manage the nation’s money supply, remains concerned about inflation. The Consumer Price Index figures for January indicated a rise of .2%, which was double what analysts were expecting. This was a reminder that inflation fears still drive interest rates, and if continued upward pressure on prices and strong economic news will likely lead to higher rates.

“We find it hard to see how the economy can continue to do well as it has without interest rates being under some upward pressure, and if interest rates do stay where they are or in fact go down it’s probably because the economy will slow down,” said Denis Amato, chief investment officer at Ancora Advisors.

These reports are released as often as Brittney Spears changes her hair, so it is wise not to read too much into any one report. But the trend is important, and if we start to see inflation and economic growth trending up, it will certainly put upward pressure on inteterest rates.

Courtesy of Yahoo News.

A lot has been written about last year, and the softness in the Pleasanton real estate market. Yes, the market was soft, and prices did slide as compared to 2005. Inventory was elevated for most of the year, swith monthly average inventory in Pleasanton up by over 75%. Sales activity was down as well, with average monthly sales down by 20%. Here is a graph showing average monthly inventory and average monthly sales for Pleasanton for the past 3 years. Obviously, 2004 was a strong year in Pleasanton, with average inventory and average sales fairly equal. You can see the market shift in 2005, and the trend accelerated in 2006 with a larger gap between average monthly inventory and average monthly sales in Pleasanton.

The biggest change in the market occured in the low end of the market (under $1 million). There was a dramatic change between 2004 and 2006, with average inventory rising dramatically and average monthly sales declining.

The high end market in Pleasanton did not show major changes from 2004 through 2006, remaining relatively slow as compared with other price brackets. There remained abundant inventory and sluggish but steady sales in the upper range.

Have we hit the bottom. It is possible that we will see stabilization in the Pleasanton and Tri-Valley housing market this year. Early on, inventory has declined since last summer, and November and January showed some decent sales activity. A lot will depend on national economic and housing news, which could negatively impact buyers perspectives if they show continued softening in the housing market nationally. One of the key factors will be inventory. If we see dramatic increases in inventory as we enter spring, it will likely slow the market. Only time will tell..

The National Association of Realtors released the nation wide 4th quarter statistics, and sales were down over 10% from the same period last year. The Association sees this as evidence that we have hit the bottom of the cycle, with buyers acting to take advantage of lower prices and incentives.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said it appears the fourth quarter was the bottom for the current housing cycle. “This information confirms 2006 was the year of contraction, and hopefully the fourth quarter was the bottom of this current business cycle,” he said. “Home sales are leveling at historically high levels, and examination of data within the quarter shows home prices stabilizing toward the end. When we get the figures for this spring, I expect to see a discernable improvement in both sales and prices.”

The national median existing single-family home price was $219,300 in the fourth quarter, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier when the median price was $225,300. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. For all of 2006, the median price rose 1.4 percent to $222,000.

Certainly, the activity level for January and into February in Pleasanton and the Tri-Valley indicates that there is some renewed optimism in the local housing market, which has been further stabilized by a relatively low level of inventory, especially in the lower end of the market.

Read the whole article here.

The Pleasanton real estate market showed decent activity in January, rebounding from a sluggish December, while inventory remained at low levels. While many homes showed longer market times and price reductions, many others sold quickly. And there are even some sellers who received multiple offers. However, even in multiple offer situations, buyers were not wildly bidding on these homes as they were in 2004 & 2005, but typically showed restraint and an unwillingness to pay asking price or over.

This graph shows inventory vs pending sales at the end of the month. As you can see, inventory held at roughly the same level as December, and at a much lower level than last summer. Sales were generally in line with the monthly averages for last year, except for October and December, which both showed lower sales activity (click on graph to enlarge)

In the lower end of the market in Pleasanton (Under $1 million), the market showed strong gains. Sales activity was near the peak we experienced in June of last year, while inventory continued to decline. Certainly a welcome sign for a segment of the market that was sluggish for most of last year. (click on the graph to enlarge)

In the $1 million to $2 million market segment in Pleasanton, activity remained fairly slow, with inventory actually drifting higher. Activity was below the peaks of last year, and roughly the same as December of last year. (click on graph to enlarge)

In the Pleasanton high end market (over $2 million), pending sales rose in January, increasing nicely from the sluggish levels of September - December 2006. Inventory held steady at December levels, which are down from the peak of last summer. (click on graph to enlarge)