Alameda: March Home Sales

The month of March came to a close last week and the Alameda sales data shows that the news is mixed in the first quarter of 2009. Sales remain flat with 25 sales recorded on the MLS for March; the total for the quarter was 68. The first quarter of 2007 had 61 sales, so the positive there was an increase.

The not so good news is current homeowners continue to see the median sale price decline 20% from March 2008. Of the 25 properties sold in March seven of were purchased at or above the list price, the median accepted offer was 97% of the list price. I think that this shows a leveling in the market. As the percentage of list to sale gets closer it shows that buyers are finding pricing they find to be a good value.

The month also recorded a million dollar sale, 123 Old Castle sold for just $10,000 less than the asking price of $1,295,000. The largest overbid came in at 116% of the asking price. A condo, 1629 Foley, sold for $230,000 more than $30,000 over the asking price. The lowest offer was 1514 Minturn that only received 63% of the asking price of $380,000.

April will be a pivotal month; if sales are in the 20-30 range then I think the market will continue to lag well into 2009. If we see a jump from March to April then the traditional selling season will be off to a good start.

Sale Date	Address	Listing Price	Sale Price	%
04-Mar-09	1629 FOLEY ST	$    199,000.00	$    230,000.00	116%
06-Mar-09	1807 2ND STREET	$    239,000.00	$    225,000.00	94%
06-Mar-09	2153 CLINTON AVE	$    748,000.00	$    688,000.00	92%
06-Mar-09	1811 SHERMAN ST	$    484,900.00	$    465,000.00	96%
09-Mar-09	1828 9TH ST	$    489,000.00	$    489,000.00	100%
09-Mar-09	1011 BROADWAY	$    419,900.00	$    390,000.00	93%
12-Mar-09	234 CHESWICK CT	$    699,000.00	$    633,000.00	91%
12-Mar-09	1305 WEBSTER ST #C203	$    169,900.00	$    165,000.00	97%
13-Mar-09	104 SABLE PT	$    699,000.00	$    690,000.00	99%
13-Mar-09	1305 MOUND ST	$    599,000.00	$    625,000.00	104%
17-Mar-09	1333 WEBSTER ST #A212	$    159,900.00	$    150,000.00	94%
18-Mar-09	1 FLETCHER CT	$    649,000.00	$    625,000.00	96%
19-Mar-09	760 BUENA VISTA	$    625,000.00	$    590,000.00	94%
19-Mar-09	547 KINGS RD	$    609,000.00	$    575,000.00	94%
20-Mar-09	1809 FREMONT DR.	$    839,000.00	$    815,000.00	97%
20-Mar-09	1104 SANTA CLARA AVE	$    549,000.00	$    540,000.00	98%
23-Mar-09	325 SUNSET ROAD	$    525,000.00	$    555,000.00	106%
25-Mar-09	1514 MINTURN ST	$    380,000.00	$    241,000.00	63%
25-Mar-09	123 OLDCASTLE LN	$ 1,295,000.00	$ 1,285,000.00	99%
26-Mar-09	3160 PHOENIX LN	$    407,900.00	$    408,000.00	100%
27-Mar-09	1545 B SANTA CLARA AVE	$    499,000.00	$    500,000.00	100%
30-Mar-09	1708 BROADWAY	$    539,000.00	$    539,000.00	100%
31-Mar-09	2137 OTIS DR #314	$    353,000.00	$    350,000.00	99%
31-Mar-09	613 HAIGHT AVE	$    405,000.00	$    375,000.00	93%
31-Mar-09	2101 SHORELINE DR #214	$    439,000.00	$    420,000.00	96%
	Median	$    499,000.00	$    500,000.00	97%
	March 2008 Median		$    625,000.00
		Y-Y Difference	-20%
			$    502,720.00