The San Francisco Bay Area housing market continued its downward slide in. February. Home sales fell sharply across the nine-county region, and...
The San Francisco Bay Area housing market continued its downward slide in. February. Home sales fell sharply across the nine-county region, and...
View Housing Market Watch RSS feedThe San Francisco Bay Area housing market continued its downward slide in February. Home sales fell sharply across the nine-county region, and median prices remained flat. Contra Costa, Solano and Sonoma Counties fared the worst; Marin County and Alameda County performed the best.
After 25 months, home sales are still falling in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Overall, the number of February home sales fell 7.9 percent from February of 2006 to February of 2007, putting home sales in the Bay Area at an eleven year low.
Median home prices also fell in five out of the nine counties, but the median price of a Bay Area home edged up slightly from $618,000 in February 2006 to $620,000 in February 2007. Rents, meanwhile, held steady.
| County | Median Price Feb. 06 | Median Price Feb. 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | $580,000 | $585,000 | 0.9 |
| Contra Costa | $568,000 | $537,000 | -5.5 |
| Marin | $799,000 | $829,000 | 3.8 |
| Napa | $620,000 | $612,500 | -1.2 |
| Santa Clara | $667,000 | $677,000 | 1.5 |
| San Francisco | $740,000 | $757,000 | 2.4 |
| San Mateo | $735,000 | $720,000 | -2.0 |
| Solano | $455,000 | $445,000 | -2.2 |
| Sonoma | $529,500 | $515,000 | -2.7 |
Between February of 2006 and February of 2007, median prices fell in almost every Bay Area County. Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Alameda Counties all saw increases, but they were extremely modest by historical standards.
| # Sold Feb 06 | # Sold Feb 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 6,844 | 6,305 | -7.9 |
| # Sold Jan 07 | # Sold Feb 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 6,168 | 6,305 | 2.2 |
February kicks off the home selling season in the Bay Area. The month typically outperforms January. Since 1988, February has averaged more than 6,600 sales. This is the first year since 1996 that sales have been below that number.
| Area | Homes Sold Feb. 06 | Homes Sold Feb. 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | 1,307 | 1,356 | 3.7 |
| Contra Costa | 1,426 | 1,160 | -18.7 |
| Marin | 219 | 228 | 4.1 |
| Napa | 99 | 93 | -6.1 |
| Santa Clara | 1,776 | 1,654 | -6.9 |
| San Francisco | 429 | 375 | -12.6 |
| San Mateo | 568 | 528 | -2.0 |
| Solano | 528 | 458 | -13.3 |
| Sonoma | 492 | 453 | -7.9 |
Sales were down considerably in almost every county within the Bay Area. Home sales were best in Alameda, and Marin County, with Solano, Contra Costa, San Francisco and Sonoma County markets performing the worst.
| Area | 1 Bdr Rent Feb 06 | 1 Bdr Rent Feb 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa | $845 | $856 | 1.3 |
| Oakland-Fremont | $1,045 | $1,055 | 0.9 |
| San Francisco | $1,227 | $1,239 | 0.9 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale | $1,059 | $1,068 | 0.8 |
| Area | 2 Bdr Rent Feb 06 | 2 Bdr Rent Feb 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa | $1,098 | $1,112 | 1.3 |
| Oakland-Fremont | $1,238 | $1,250 | 0.9 |
| San Francisco | $1,536 | $1,551 | 0.9 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale | $1,273 | $1,284 | 0.8 |
| Area | 3 Bdr Rent Feb 06 | 3 Bdr Rent Feb 07 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa | $1,519 | $1,538 | 1.3 |
| Oakland-Fremont | $1,679 | $1,695 | 0.9 |
| San Francisco | $2,051 | $2,071 | 0.9 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale | $1,831 | $1,846 | 0.8 |
Fair market rents are still relatively low compared to the median prices of homes. In most cases, you can currently save anywhere from $800 to $2,500 per month renting versus buying.
| Month/Year | Foreclosure Sales | % Returned to Lender |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 06 | 2,819 | 87 |
| Jan 07 | 3,592 | 86 |
| Feb 07 | 4,171 | 89 |
In February of 2007, the number of foreclosed properties sold at auction in California was 4,171. This number is up significantly from just one month ago, and up nearly 50 percent from two years ago. In Contra Costa County, the number of foreclosed properties sold at auction increased a whopping 865 percent in one year alone. Lenders are also having more properties, unable to be sold at auction, returned to them.
| Loan | Jan 07 Rate | Feb 07 Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.24 | 6.32 | -0.08 |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.99 | 6.09 | 0.10 |
| Jumbo 30-Year Fixed | 6.47 | 6.48 | 0.01 |
| 5/1 ARM | 6.18 | 6.15 | -0.03 |
| 1 Yr ARM | 5.94 | 6.04 | 0.10 |
Interest rates remained relatively steady between January and February of 2007. The 30-year fixed rate and the 5/1 ARM rate dropped slightly, while rates on other loans edged upwards.
Prices couldn't be much flatter in the Bay Area than they are now. Homeowners who saw double-digit price appreciation between 2000 and 2005 are now seeing the value of their home decrease.
The February trend of sliding prices and low home sales is expected to continue into March, as more homes are foreclosed upon and unsold inventory continues to flood the market. Affordability is still a problem, and many lenders are tightening lending regulations, which could squeeze additional buyers out of the market.
Chances are, we will see further price depreciation in downtrodden counties like Contra Costa, Solano and Sonoma Counties.
Prices may edge up slightly in Marin County and San Francisco County, but gains will more than likely be modest.
Real estate reality television shows are everywhere these days. Each show has a slightly different premise, but nearly all of them have one thing in common: happy endings. Do these TV programs showcase the true reality of the housing market?
Even celebs are feeling the pinch as with the worsening housing downturn. Some are actually facing foreclosure and may lose their homes to the subprime mortgage crisis. See which stars are losing in the real estate market here.
The National Association of Realtors is still working overtime to convince the American consumer that the housing market is starting to turn around. What's worse is that some media outlets are buying this story and passing it on to people who are looking for real news.
Mortgage company Countrywide Financial is now under fire for the role that they played in the ongoing housing crisis. Critics accuse this mortgage provider of having engaged in questionable lending practices in order to extract maximum profits. Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, who has dumped his own stock, responds to the charges.
Real estate continued to be a losing venture for many San Francisco Bay Area homeowners and housing market professionals during the month of July. Homes sold at the slowest pace since 1995, with the rate of sales falling throughout the nine county region with the exception of San Francisco. Median prices also dropped, with the biggest declines recorded in Solano and Sonoma Counties.
The housing market continues to slip in most parts of the Bay Area. Median home prices dropped most notably in Sonoma and Solano County, while Marin and Santa Clara County housing markets saw modest increases.
Home sales declined once again in the San Francisco Bay Area over the month of June. According to the most recent reports, homes sold at their slowest pace for 12 years, and prices have begun to dip as well. Markets that performed the worst last month include those in Napa County, Solano County, and Sonoma County.
Slow home sales, rising foreclosures, and falling prices continued to plague the San Francisco Bay Area throughout the month of May. Housing markets seeing the most turmoil are located in Contra Costa County, Napa County, and Solano County, but virtually no market in the nine-county region has experienced improvement since the bust.
The San Francisco Bay Area housing market continued its downward spiral during the beginning of the second quarter. Home sales dropped dramatically through the nine-county region and prices remained stagnant.