Reprinted from The California Association of Realtors Newsline

The median home price of an existing single family home in California rose 14.1 percent to $279,840 in February compared with February 2009 and home sales decreased 11.7 percent during the same period C.A.R. reported yesterday. 

“The federal tax credit for home buyers, low mortgage rates, and affordability at record levels have contributed to an unprecedented opportunity for many first-timers in the market for a home of their own,” said C.A.R. President Steve Goddard. “Although sales have declined from the unusually strong levels we experienced a year ago, they’ve remained above the 500,000-unit threshold for 18 consecutive months, while home prices continue to firm in the regions of the state most attractive to buyers taking advantage of today’s favorable market conditions.”

STATS FOR LAST 7 DAYS

new listing 2, price reduced 7, sale pending 1, sold 0

 new listing         n/a, $395,000, 4 br 2 ba, 1,196 sf

                               1759 Crinella Dr, $449,500, 2 br 1 ba, 1,086 sf                               

price reduced   1080 Mariposa Ln, $395,000 3 br 2 ba, 1,312 sf

                               1750 Crinella Dr, $769,500 3 br 3 ba, 1,587 sf

                               1638 Madrona Ave, $799,000 2 br 1 ba, 1,136 sf

                               1791 Vineyard Ave, $848,000 2 br 2 ba, 1,459 sf

                              690 Crystal Springs Rd, $875,000 2 br 2 ba, 1,600 sf

                               1856 Pine St, $1,395,000 4 br 4 ba, 3,804 sf

                               1263 Allyn Ave, $1,695,000 2 br 3 ba, 1,900 sf

new pending     1460 Conn Valley Rd, $995,000, 2 br 2 ba, 1,552 sf

new sold              

median prices, average days on market

current listings for sale   97   med price $1,495,000; avg days on market 177

current sale pendings       10   med price  $597,450; avg days on market 154

sold in last 6 months        33    med price  $875,000; avg days on market 140

Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 

Report details ZIP codes with greatest premium above list price
Four California ZIP codes earned places on the third quarter “Hot Market” list compiled by ZipRealty.  The list showcases ZIP codes where homes are selling for the greatest premium above list price.  By contrast, California had eight of the top 10 markets in the second-quarter Hot Market list.  Two Arizona markets—Glendale and Phoenix—made the list for the first time.

The 10 ZIP codes with the highest sales-price-to-list-price ratio among the 33 markets tracked by ZipRealty were: Rancho Bernardo, Calif., 92127 (124.9 percent sales-to-list ratio); Davie, Fla., 33328 (123.2 percent); Grand Prairie, Texas, 75050 (120.1 percent); Commerce, Calif., 90022 (118.5 percent); Everett, Wash., 98205 (109.3 percent); Whitestone, N.Y., 11357 (108.5 percent); Glendale, Ariz., 85307 (107.6 percent); Phoenix, Ariz., 85035 (106.3 percent); Oakland, Calif., 94608 (105.6 percent; and Arleta (Los Angeles), Calif., 91331 (105.3 percent).

I subscribe to about 20 different blogs which I generally read daily. I do slip every once in awhile and than often scan the articles to catch up. During one such scanning session, a post on Calculated Risk Blog, one of my favorites, caught my eye and am I glad I stopped and took a closer look.

Being 63 next Tuesday, I am coming of the age where you wonder how the number of Baby Boomers will affect things, especially Social Security and Medicare. With all the hoopla about health insurance and the potential hidden costs, it is more prevalent there ever and Calculated Risk comes to the rescue, or maybe that should be nightmare. They have produce a great graphic showing the U.S. Population Distribution by Age, 1950 through 2050. Their graph changes ever two seconds showing the age distribution every five years based upon population data and estimates from the Census Bureau. Below is the starting graph for 1950 but you need to go to their site to see the entire range.

Below are some stats I received in an email from Zillow and have copied here.

Real Estate Market Trends in Yountville

According to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, home values in Yountville decreased 19.3% in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the second quarter of 2008.  Nationally, home values decreased 12.1% during this same period.

 Zillow Home Value Index

Yountville Home Prices and Home Values

	Region	M-o-M	Q-o-Q	Y-o-Y	Jun 2009
*Includes data and transactions through 06/30/2009
No records found.
	Yountville	-1.0 %	-3.4 %	-19.3 %	$ 510,800

Zillow Home Value Index

Mid-point of Zestimate valuations for 94599. Half the Zestimates are above this number and half are below it.

Seeing these stats for Yountville, I live here and have been selling real estate here for 20+ years, made me think how the stats from BAREIS, my Multiple Listing Service (MLS), would compare. The problem is how to compare apples for apples. My understanding of Zillow Home Value Index is limited and after spending 10+ minutes reading up on “What is a Zestimate Value?”, I decided just to use the solds from BAREIS for the same periods and let the reader make up their own conclusions. Since Zillow uses median prices, I have done the same.

Time Period          # Sold   Median Sales Price   % Change from 2008

3/1/08 – 6/30/08         8                $532,500

3/1/09 – 6/30/09         2                 $532,500                                        0

The obvious question, are the number of solds statistically accurate for comparing them to anything in Zillow? One fact I did find worth noting: the number of solds in BAREIS for these periods was equal to the number of solds in Realist, a First American CoreLogic online data delivery company, except for one foreclosure sale in 2008. It did affect the median price by $10,084 which would make the price drop for 2009 solds 1.9%. All I can say, based on the limited number of sales so far, Yountville seems to be doing ok. If you ask me what my gut tells me based upon my 20+ years experience, I would have to say there has been a price drop for this period and my guess would be 10%.

STATS FOR LAST 7 DAYS

new listing 2, sale pending 1, sold 1, expired 0, withdrawn 1

new listing          1128 Denise Dr, $325,000, 3 br 2 ba, 1,331 SF

                                350 Dutch Henry Canyon Rd, $1,850,000, 4 br 2 ba, 2,000 SF

new pending      1607 Harley St, $299,000, 1 br 1 ba, 764 SF

new sold              1488 Fairway Vista Ct, $962,000, 3 br 2 ba, 2,207 SF      

new expired

withdrawn          1604 Fair Way, $775,000, 2 br 2 ba, n/a SF

current listings for sale    62   avg price  $1,770,573; avg days on market 181

current sale pendings        8    avg price  $1,000,238; avg days on market 212

sold in last 6 months         17   avg price  $601,353; avg days on market 167

A few more facts from the 2008 National Assoction of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

• 41% considered commuting costs in neighborhood selection
• 39% said transportation costs were somewhat important
• 90% cited environmental friendly features important
• Buyers saw 10 homes for 10 weeks before buying
• Typical buyer 47 years old and earned $88,200
• Median age of sellers was $47 with income of $91,000
• 42% of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers
• Typical house sold for 96% of listing price
• 81% of sellers used full-service brokerage

To obtain the data below, NAR mailed an 8 page questionnaire in August 2008 to a national sample of 133,000 home buyers and sellers who purchased their homes between July 2007 and June 2008. It generated 10,053 responses.

Some additional interesting fact from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) “Home Buyer and Seller Survey” for 2008.

The percentage of buyers who purchased a home in foreclosure jumped to 6 percent of transactions in the 2008 survey from 1 percent in 2007. Another 38 percent of buyers considered purchasing of a home in foreclosure but did not, primarily because they could not find the right home.

cartoon from immobilienblasen blog

If you have read this blog for any time, you will remember some of my first posts about getting a deal at a foreclosure auction. I haven’t been to one in  the last couple of months but I track enough sales to maintain my warning to buyers about doing your homework prior to buying a home in foreclosure. There are a few more true deals out there, but very often prices are full retail and there is no disclosure plus an onerous real estate contract much in favor of the seller/lender. Below are links for those wishing to read more:

http://www.napavalleyaddress.com/hello-world.html   Can You Get A Deal At An Auction?

http://www.napavalleyaddress.com/caveat-emptor-the-continuing-saga-on-real-estate-auctions.html Caveat Emptor – The continuing saga on real estate auctions

Another interest survey fact:

The Survey shows that 81 percent of home buyers and 84 percent sellers used a real estate professional, comparable to 2007.

To obtain the data below, NAR mailed an 8 page questionnaire in August 2008 to a national sample of 133,000 home buyers and sellers who purchased their homes between July 2007 and June 2008. It generated 10,053 responses.