The question everyone wants to know in the Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, and Tri-Valley region is “when are we going to hit the bottom of the real estate slump?” This seems to be the source of endless debate among both real estate professionals, as well as the general public. There are no clear answers, and for every argument that we have a ways to go in this downturn, there can be an equally convincing argument that the bottom is getting near.
So what do you think? You can register your opinion on my poll at The 680 Blog. Give it a look and see where your opinion falls.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Okay, time to get our weekly dose of bad news out of the way. Hopefully in the near future, we will be able to write about good things are for Pleasanton real estate, but we are not quite there yet. So here it goes;
* New home sales nationally were up slightly from the revised August number, but down 24% as compared to September of last year. The tricky part of reporting sales for new homes is that builders are experiencing a high rate of cancellation, so these numbers are often revised. That is what happened here, where the August new home sales numbers were later adjusted downward to reflect cancellations.
* Sales of resale homes dropped in September in the Bay Area, down 45% from September of 2006. The median home price also declined.
* Unsold inventory of resale homes in California showed a 16.6 month supply in September, up from 6.4 month’s supply in September of 2006.
* Mortgage defaults hit a record level in the Bay Area and California in the 3rd Quarter. Alameda County saw a 165% increase in mortgage defaults compared to the 3rd quarter of 2006, and Contra Costa County saw an increase of 217%.
Locally, the Pleasanton market is still limping along, with sales running about half what they were in the summer. Some neighborhoods such as Pleasanton Valley/Birdland and Country Fair in Ponderosa are seeing strong activity, but other neighborhoods are struggling right now.
The good news? Jumbo mortgage rates continue to come down as the mortgage market normalizes.
Be thankful you don’t live in the Central Valley, where market conditions are dismal, and unsold inventory of resale homes is at staggering proportions. At least in Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, and the rest of the Tri-Valley area, you can still sell your home if you price it appropriately. In fact, some houses are selling in well under 30 days, and there are still occasional multiple offers on prime properties.
Popularity: 9% [?]
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