Slideshow of more photos from Art and Wine.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Alameda Snapshot: Park Street Art and Wine
This week's Alameda Snapshot is from the past weekend's Park Street Art and Wine Fair. It was a great time with good food, beverages, shopping and people mingling out in the great weather.
Slideshow of more photos from Art and Wine.
Slideshow of more photos from Art and Wine.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Distressed Properties Make Up 15 Percent of Alameda Sales
So you want to buy a distressed property in Alameda? Here is what you should expect if dive into the world of foreclosed and short sale homes: little to choose from and to pay 99 percent of list price.
Unlike other areas of the Bay Area, for example across the bridge in Oakland’s 94606 and 94601 that has over 75 percent of it sales in distressed property category, Alameda has seen just15 percent of its sales in the distressed category since January 1, 2008.
Sales of distressed property really did not hit the Island until June of last year. Alameda saw just one short sale from January to June. The pace then picked up significantly for the volume of sales in Alameda. We saw two months in April and June of this year where distressed sales reached 11 for the month, highs for the 19-month period.
The biggest bargain, in terms of list price to sale price, was a multi family foreclosed home on Minturn that sold for $241,000, 63 percent less than the list price. The lowest price sale was a condo at the Park Webster, the unit sold for $144,500 back in December.
On the opposite side of that coin was a one bedroom, one bathroom home on Clinton sold for 145 percent of list price. The 888 square foot home sold in November. The highest price foreclosure was located at Bayport. The four bedroom Mosley home sold for $860,000 above the list price of $849,900.
The largest group of foreclosed homes during the period was in the $400,000 range. Twenty properties sold in that price band making up 20 percent of the sales. The $500,000 range was another hard hit band with 15 foreclosed sales.
Foreclosures made up 66 of the 102 distressed sales.
The current 13 foreclosed homes that are listed for sale on the MLS, 10 are homes and three are condos. The properties range from $224,900 to $790,000. The Island has another 13 homes listed as short sales.
So if you are looking, expect to find very little and still pay Alameda prices.
Unlike other areas of the Bay Area, for example across the bridge in Oakland’s 94606 and 94601 that has over 75 percent of it sales in distressed property category, Alameda has seen just15 percent of its sales in the distressed category since January 1, 2008.
Sales of distressed property really did not hit the Island until June of last year. Alameda saw just one short sale from January to June. The pace then picked up significantly for the volume of sales in Alameda. We saw two months in April and June of this year where distressed sales reached 11 for the month, highs for the 19-month period.
The biggest bargain, in terms of list price to sale price, was a multi family foreclosed home on Minturn that sold for $241,000, 63 percent less than the list price. The lowest price sale was a condo at the Park Webster, the unit sold for $144,500 back in December.
On the opposite side of that coin was a one bedroom, one bathroom home on Clinton sold for 145 percent of list price. The 888 square foot home sold in November. The highest price foreclosure was located at Bayport. The four bedroom Mosley home sold for $860,000 above the list price of $849,900.
The largest group of foreclosed homes during the period was in the $400,000 range. Twenty properties sold in that price band making up 20 percent of the sales. The $500,000 range was another hard hit band with 15 foreclosed sales.
Foreclosures made up 66 of the 102 distressed sales.
The current 13 foreclosed homes that are listed for sale on the MLS, 10 are homes and three are condos. The properties range from $224,900 to $790,000. The Island has another 13 homes listed as short sales.
So if you are looking, expect to find very little and still pay Alameda prices.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Calling All Swimmers
I normally, do not call out one specific listing unless I find something interesting, and today I thought 3341 Fernside Blvd was worthy of this call out, especially if you are a swimmer.
This $1,295,000 five bedroom, three bathroom home located on the water and has one feature you do not see very often in Alameda, a private pool. Now normally, I would not see a pool as a benefit to a home being sold, because it requires cleaning, maintenance and usually takes up a good portion of the backyard. Since this home is located on the estuary, the pool location is unique and is framed well in yard.
See listing: (Photo 10)
http://www.prurealty.com/propertyDetail.aspx?listingid=6-40416000&src=propSearch
The pool overlooks the estuary and the boat dock to give swimmers a rare look out on to the bay water.
Given the homes location and condition it is a very nice property and a home with a pool is a rare find in Alameda.
The Prudential listing agent's description: A rare personal retreat w/ superb on the water indoor/outdoor living including a pool, spa, & deep water boat dock. Located in the desirable Fernside neighborhood w/ exceptional blend of vintage charm & modern updating including an exquisite chef's kitchen & great room.
I corrected the three spelling errors in the description so it will not read exactly as the online copy. And technically, the home is not located in the Fernside Homeowners Association, but heck it is on Fernside so close enough I guess.
So if have the seven figures to drop on a home it is well worth a look if you like pools.
This $1,295,000 five bedroom, three bathroom home located on the water and has one feature you do not see very often in Alameda, a private pool. Now normally, I would not see a pool as a benefit to a home being sold, because it requires cleaning, maintenance and usually takes up a good portion of the backyard. Since this home is located on the estuary, the pool location is unique and is framed well in yard.
See listing: (Photo 10)
http://www.prurealty.com/propertyDetail.aspx?listingid=6-40416000&src=propSearch
The pool overlooks the estuary and the boat dock to give swimmers a rare look out on to the bay water.
Given the homes location and condition it is a very nice property and a home with a pool is a rare find in Alameda.
The Prudential listing agent's description: A rare personal retreat w/ superb on the water indoor/outdoor living including a pool, spa, & deep water boat dock. Located in the desirable Fernside neighborhood w/ exceptional blend of vintage charm & modern updating including an exquisite chef's kitchen & great room.
I corrected the three spelling errors in the description so it will not read exactly as the online copy. And technically, the home is not located in the Fernside Homeowners Association, but heck it is on Fernside so close enough I guess.
So if have the seven figures to drop on a home it is well worth a look if you like pools.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Lots of News So Here is: Three Dot Round Up
I have been trying to get to this post but time has been just flying the last two days. There has been a lot of news in the last 24 hours regarding Real Estate both nationally and locally. So I thought a three dot round up would be appropriate.
First a review of the Alameda Real Estate Inventory data, the chart is below. After coming off a 15-week high inventory pulled back this week to 174 units for sale. This may be good news with 33 sales already recorded for the month of July and with a few days left in the month we may be able to surpass last month’s 41 units sold . . .
The Bay Area is "Hot" in distressed neighborhoods. Oakland 94606 has been named one of the top 10 "hottest" real-estate markets in the country by Online real-estate company Zip Realty. A glut of foreclosures is leading some areas to see bidding wars -- just like the old days. Eight of Zip Realty's ten hottest markets are in California. While the cold markets, where offers are coming in at less than list price, are concentrated in the southeast, principally in Georgia and Florida. Of the 182 Bay Area zip codes the company included Alameda’s 94501 was 99th with homes selling for 97.51 percent of the list price. The 94502 was 137th on the list at 96.24 percent. I guess the Island is lukewarm. The details of the company's second-quarter Home Hunter Report. . .
Prices nationally continue to decline but just not as much as the past months. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index for May showed a narrower decline in prices for a fourth straight month, but in its 20-city gauge was still down 17.1% from a year ago. While the reading was an improvement from the 18.1% decline in April, it was also the latest reminder that the struggling housing market still has a long road to recovery. . .
New home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month, in another sign the housing market might be bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades. The Commerce Department said Monday that sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000. . .
First a review of the Alameda Real Estate Inventory data, the chart is below. After coming off a 15-week high inventory pulled back this week to 174 units for sale. This may be good news with 33 sales already recorded for the month of July and with a few days left in the month we may be able to surpass last month’s 41 units sold . . .
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The Bay Area is "Hot" in distressed neighborhoods. Oakland 94606 has been named one of the top 10 "hottest" real-estate markets in the country by Online real-estate company Zip Realty. A glut of foreclosures is leading some areas to see bidding wars -- just like the old days. Eight of Zip Realty's ten hottest markets are in California. While the cold markets, where offers are coming in at less than list price, are concentrated in the southeast, principally in Georgia and Florida. Of the 182 Bay Area zip codes the company included Alameda’s 94501 was 99th with homes selling for 97.51 percent of the list price. The 94502 was 137th on the list at 96.24 percent. I guess the Island is lukewarm. The details of the company's second-quarter Home Hunter Report. . .
Prices nationally continue to decline but just not as much as the past months. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index for May showed a narrower decline in prices for a fourth straight month, but in its 20-city gauge was still down 17.1% from a year ago. While the reading was an improvement from the 18.1% decline in April, it was also the latest reminder that the struggling housing market still has a long road to recovery. . .
New home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month, in another sign the housing market might be bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades. The Commerce Department said Monday that sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000. . .
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sights and Sounds from Art and Wine
I thought I would bring you some sights and sounds from this year's Park Street Art and Wine Fair. I will have the regualr Real Estate post later today.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Alameda Snapshot(s): USS Hornet in Apollo Recovery Mission
Today's Alameda Snapshots come courtesy of NASA. They are of the USS Hornet working both the Apollo 11 and 12 Missions. The floating museum will have several activities to celebrate man's walk on the moon this weekend. See USS Hornet website for details. http://www.uss-hornet.org/
Video of the capsule being placed on the flight deck.
The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969.
The recovery operation took place in the Pacific Ocean where Navy para-rescue men recovered the capsule housing the 3-man Apollo 11 crew. The crew was airlifted to safety aboard the U.S.S. Hornet recovery ship, where they were quartered in a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) which served as their home for 21 days. In this photo taken at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the quarantined housing facility is being lowered from the U.S.S. Hornet, onto a trailer for transport to Hickam Field. From there, it was loaded aboard an Air Force C-141 jet and flown back to Ellington Air Force Base Texas, and then on to the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, Texas. Date of Image: 1969-07-27
By November the Hornet was out picking up Apollo 12.
Video of the capsule being placed on the flight deck.
The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969.
The recovery operation took place in the Pacific Ocean where Navy para-rescue men recovered the capsule housing the 3-man Apollo 11 crew. The crew was airlifted to safety aboard the U.S.S. Hornet recovery ship, where they were quartered in a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) which served as their home for 21 days. In this photo taken at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the quarantined housing facility is being lowered from the U.S.S. Hornet, onto a trailer for transport to Hickam Field. From there, it was loaded aboard an Air Force C-141 jet and flown back to Ellington Air Force Base Texas, and then on to the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, Texas. Date of Image: 1969-07-27
By November the Hornet was out picking up Apollo 12.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Confusion Reigns
Confused by all the Real Estate news, me too. It appears that all the data is conflicting and depending on the day it can be either rosy or gloom, or in the case of today both.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously occupied homes rose 3.6 percent in June. The real estate trade group released numbers that stated sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, above the 4.84 million units analysts had been expecting. Most would read into this that housing market is beginning to recover, and in turn the overall economy, is in fact recovering.
But wait a minute. The most excellent Real Estate reporter Carolyn Said at the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: Foreclosures dip but default notices rise. See Story -- Link
Information from MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate data company shows that default notices for the San Francisco Bay Area hit a record high. According to the article and DataQuick: Notices of default, sent to people who are delinquent on their home loans, totaled nearly 20,000 for the nine-county Bay Area region in the Second Quarter of this year.
I took a look at the Alameda Zip codes and it showed that the Main Island (94501) of Alameda saw a 32.5 percent increase in notices of default year-over-year. Bay Farm (94502) saw a jump of 16.7 percent in the same time frame.
The number of Alameda homes that converted to trustees deeds (TD), meaning they completed the foreclosure process increased in Second Quarter 2009. This past quarter saw 21 homes revert to the trustee compared to 19 Second Quarter last year.
Regionally and State wide the news is reflects a downward trend. The 6,929 Bay Area foreclosures reflected a 25.4 percent drop from the second quarter last year and the state's 45,667 foreclosures were a 27.9 percent decline. Much of may be attributed to the Banks dealing with a refinancing boom and loan modification boom that happened in the quarter.
So what does it all mean? That another report will be out soon and eventually all this information will let us know exactly where the market stands.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously occupied homes rose 3.6 percent in June. The real estate trade group released numbers that stated sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, above the 4.84 million units analysts had been expecting. Most would read into this that housing market is beginning to recover, and in turn the overall economy, is in fact recovering.
But wait a minute. The most excellent Real Estate reporter Carolyn Said at the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: Foreclosures dip but default notices rise. See Story -- Link
Information from MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate data company shows that default notices for the San Francisco Bay Area hit a record high. According to the article and DataQuick: Notices of default, sent to people who are delinquent on their home loans, totaled nearly 20,000 for the nine-county Bay Area region in the Second Quarter of this year.
I took a look at the Alameda Zip codes and it showed that the Main Island (94501) of Alameda saw a 32.5 percent increase in notices of default year-over-year. Bay Farm (94502) saw a jump of 16.7 percent in the same time frame.
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The number of Alameda homes that converted to trustees deeds (TD), meaning they completed the foreclosure process increased in Second Quarter 2009. This past quarter saw 21 homes revert to the trustee compared to 19 Second Quarter last year.
Regionally and State wide the news is reflects a downward trend. The 6,929 Bay Area foreclosures reflected a 25.4 percent drop from the second quarter last year and the state's 45,667 foreclosures were a 27.9 percent decline. Much of may be attributed to the Banks dealing with a refinancing boom and loan modification boom that happened in the quarter.
So what does it all mean? That another report will be out soon and eventually all this information will let us know exactly where the market stands.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Local Alameda Market Needs Volume
I wanted to take a step back and look long term at the Alameda home sales market. With all the different reports that come out on an almost daily basis forecasting everything from doom and gloom to a new housing bounce, I wanted to see how sales are impacting our local housing market.
You can see in chart below that the First Quarter of the Year was very tough for sellers with the average sale price at 95 percent off the list price. This ratio climbed in the second quarter as sale prices have seemed to stabilize and the market has started to see homes selling at or above list price.
The Answer to the sales volume question is not very encouraging, especially if you are a Realtor or the Tax Man.
Even though July is not over, sales in dollar volume is way down. With 22 days in the books it would take a lot of the end of the month closing to cut into the 76 percent deficit it has with 2008.
Link to Chart
I started with two questions:
What are homes selling for compared to the list price?
What is the Dollar Volume of homes sold in Alameda?
The answer to the first question is pretty good news. Homes for the past 18 months have been selling between 96 to 98 percent of the list price. This means that the Alameda market has not been very volatile in terms of a glut of low ball offers. I also think it means that sellers have been realistic in pricing their properties in the current market.
You can see in chart below that the First Quarter of the Year was very tough for sellers with the average sale price at 95 percent off the list price. This ratio climbed in the second quarter as sale prices have seemed to stabilize and the market has started to see homes selling at or above list price.
The Answer to the sales volume question is not very encouraging, especially if you are a Realtor or the Tax Man.
Just looking at the second quarter volume is down 22 percent year-over-year. The prior year saw the same steep decline when the second quarter in 2008 recorded a 23 percent decline. In dollar terms the volume in 2007 was almost $116 Million compared to 2009's $69 Million for the quarter; a 40 percent decline.
The second showed that sales in Alameda continue to lag compared to past quarters.
The second and third quarter of 2007 were very strong and the decline started in the fourth quarter of that year. The first quarter of 2008 saw sales drop to just over $39 Million, its lowest point in a review of the last 10 quarters.Even though July is not over, sales in dollar volume is way down. With 22 days in the books it would take a lot of the end of the month closing to cut into the 76 percent deficit it has with 2008.
Link to Chart
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Monday, July 20, 2009
The Word For The Day: Stablilization
A couple of reports over the last few days have added a glimmer of home that the U.S. Housing Market is showing signs of stabilization.
I will get to the reports further in the post after the Alameda Real Estate update. Inventory for Alameda rose to highest level since March 22. I pull the numbers every Sunday, to keep the comparison consistent and the number of homes for sale reached 179 units. I checked again this morning and we reached 180 units.
The Condo/Townhome market rose this week to a 16 week high. The interesting thing is that 13 of these property types are listed for over $500,000.
I think that rising inventory in Alameda is a good thing, as long as they are not distressed. I interprete it as people are now comfortable with selling their home and are ready to put them on the market. In the handful of sales for July, 50 percent of them sold at or above the list price. This is a good sign for stablization.
Inventory Data (More Post Below)
Another positive sign is Nattional Housing starts jumped 3.6% in June, the second consecutive rise in new building activity. June sales came in at a 582,000 annual rate, the strongest showing since last November. The government also looked back at May and revised its starts up as well, from 532,000 to 562,000. This rising trend in new-home construction could be sustained. Permits for future ground breaking rose to 8.7 percent in June, to a 563,000 unit pace.
Released today was a report by to ZipRealty Inventory Data that revealed the U.S. housing market is showing signs of stabilization with a drop in the number of Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-listed homes for the twelfth consecutive month. These inventory drops have been in places where foreclosures have been high. This is a very good sign.
The number of single family homes and condos listed for sale according to MLS data decreased in June from May by 2.1 percent, bringing the total number of active listings in 28 major U.S. markets to 696,858, according to national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.
Additionally, ZipRealty tracked an increase in the median list price in the 28 markets to $270,440 in June from $270,027 in May. Despite the sequential increase the median list price still decreased 2.72 percent when compared to June 2008.
Bakersfield 6,419 1.5% -56.2%
Baltimore 9,347 -0.1% -7.6%
Boston 36,611 -8.2% -5.8%
Charlotte 20,744 0.4% -7.3%
Chicago 74,576 0.2% -13.6%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 37,213 -0.6% -11.9%
Denver 18,770 5.1% -16%
Houston 29,142 2.2% -21.8%
Jacksonville 11,236 0.2% -18%
Las Vegas 14,014 -10.3% -38.7%
Los Angeles 44,024 -8.8% -53.9%
Miami 55,969 -4.8% -31.8%
Minneapolis-St. Paul 23,988 -0.3% -21.8%
Norfolk/Virginia Beach 11,937 0.7% -3.7%
Orange County 8,898 -4.5% -41.8%
Orlando 24,564 -6% -26.8%
Philadelphia 36,504 0.8% -5.5%
Phoenix 30,868 -7.2% -38.8%
Raleigh/Durham 15,695 -0.3% -5.3%
Richmond 9,129 1.3% -6.6%
Salt Lake City 16,775 -0.5% -12.2%
San Francisco Bay Area 19,372 -6% -45.3%
Sacramento 15,520 0.7% -29.3%
Seattle 32,596 1.2% -18.8%
Tampa 41,309 -3.6% -22.8%
Tucson 5,694 -3.6% -22.8%
Washington, D.C. 35,724 -3.3% -31.4%
I will get to the reports further in the post after the Alameda Real Estate update. Inventory for Alameda rose to highest level since March 22. I pull the numbers every Sunday, to keep the comparison consistent and the number of homes for sale reached 179 units. I checked again this morning and we reached 180 units.
The Condo/Townhome market rose this week to a 16 week high. The interesting thing is that 13 of these property types are listed for over $500,000.
I think that rising inventory in Alameda is a good thing, as long as they are not distressed. I interprete it as people are now comfortable with selling their home and are ready to put them on the market. In the handful of sales for July, 50 percent of them sold at or above the list price. This is a good sign for stablization.
Inventory Data (More Post Below)
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Another positive sign is Nattional Housing starts jumped 3.6% in June, the second consecutive rise in new building activity. June sales came in at a 582,000 annual rate, the strongest showing since last November. The government also looked back at May and revised its starts up as well, from 532,000 to 562,000. This rising trend in new-home construction could be sustained. Permits for future ground breaking rose to 8.7 percent in June, to a 563,000 unit pace.
Released today was a report by to ZipRealty Inventory Data that revealed the U.S. housing market is showing signs of stabilization with a drop in the number of Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-listed homes for the twelfth consecutive month. These inventory drops have been in places where foreclosures have been high. This is a very good sign.
The number of single family homes and condos listed for sale according to MLS data decreased in June from May by 2.1 percent, bringing the total number of active listings in 28 major U.S. markets to 696,858, according to national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.
Additionally, ZipRealty tracked an increase in the median list price in the 28 markets to $270,440 in June from $270,027 in May. Despite the sequential increase the median list price still decreased 2.72 percent when compared to June 2008.
Other highlights from ZipRealty's Housing Inventory Index, compiled from local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data, for June include:
- San Francisco/Bay Area 19,372 First time under 20,000 listed homes since December 2006
- San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, pointing toward a stabilization in
those areas - California is seeing the most dramatic inventory declines with massive
year-over-year inventory reductions: Los Angeles saw a 53.9 percent
decrease year-over-year while Bakersfield/Fresno tracked a 56.2 percent
decrease - While South Florida has substantially fewer homes for sale than last summer, housing inventory there is plentiful. For example Miami has 27.1 percent more homes listed for sale compared to Los Angeles even though Miami has a significantly smaller population than Los Angeles
- Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix all recorded a decline in inventory which we believe may have contributed to some homes receiving multiple bids
- Median list prices have flattened or increased in Las Vegas, Phoenix,
Changes in National Markets
Austin
Bakersfield 6,419 1.5% -56.2%
Baltimore 9,347 -0.1% -7.6%
Boston 36,611 -8.2% -5.8%
Charlotte 20,744 0.4% -7.3%
Chicago 74,576 0.2% -13.6%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 37,213 -0.6% -11.9%
Denver 18,770 5.1% -16%
Houston 29,142 2.2% -21.8%
Jacksonville 11,236 0.2% -18%
Las Vegas 14,014 -10.3% -38.7%
Los Angeles 44,024 -8.8% -53.9%
Miami 55,969 -4.8% -31.8%
Minneapolis-St. Paul 23,988 -0.3% -21.8%
Norfolk/Virginia Beach 11,937 0.7% -3.7%
Orange County 8,898 -4.5% -41.8%
Orlando 24,564 -6% -26.8%
Philadelphia 36,504 0.8% -5.5%
Phoenix 30,868 -7.2% -38.8%
Raleigh/Durham 15,695 -0.3% -5.3%
Richmond 9,129 1.3% -6.6%
Salt Lake City 16,775 -0.5% -12.2%
San Francisco Bay Area 19,372 -6% -45.3%
Sacramento 15,520 0.7% -29.3%
Seattle 32,596 1.2% -18.8%
Tampa 41,309 -3.6% -22.8%
Tucson 5,694 -3.6% -22.8%
Washington, D.C. 35,724 -3.3% -31.4%
To view the data from its source you can go to the ZiPRealty Market Conditions blog: http://ziprealty.typepad.com/marketconditions/.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Alameda Snapshot: Park Street Art and Wine
Next weekend is the Park Street Art and Wine. This Alameda event is always fun, part shoppong, part eating, part drinking, part entertainment and part high school reunion for those of us that attend school on the Island.
Enjoy the weekend.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Meltdown Continues For Housing Market
I wrote on Monday that Alameda foreclosures were up, and since that post one more foreclosed home was added to the market. Now the news that the Nation's forclosure woes continue to get worse leaves everyone wondering when this housing downturn will correct itself. RealtyTrac is reporting that foreclosures continuing to set record numbers, California foreclosures are up 14.52 percent over the the first six months of 2008.
Nationally, there were 1.9 million foreclosure filings in the first six months of this year, a 15% increase from the first six months of 2008 this means that one in 84 homes received a foreclosure filing in the first half of the year. Now this does not mean that all these homes are now owned by banks, it means people fall into a range from being behind on their payments to being in default.
The escalating foreclosure crisis affected more than 1.5 million home owners (Jan. to June) and the increase can be a result of more people losing their jobs and now unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills. More than 336,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June. That works out to one in every 380 U.S. homes. This was the fourth-straight month in which more than 300,000 households receiving a foreclosure filing, which includes default notices and several other legal notices that homeowners receive before they finally lose their homes. Banks repossessed more than 79,000 homes in June, up from about 65,000 a month earlier.
The news shows that govement intervention with moratoriums at both the National and State level to encourage the lending industry to prevent foreclosures by handing out $50 billion in subsidies, the housing meltdown continues to spread. Experts don't expect foreclosures to peak until the middle of next year.
According to RealtyTrac, Foreclosure filings rose more than 33 percent in June compared with the same month last year and were up nearly 5 percent from May. Looking at the numbers on a state-by-state basis, Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rate in the first half of the year, with more than 6 percent of all households receiving a filing. Arizona was No. 2, followed by Florida, California and Utah.
The bright news being reported today is jobless claims are down.
Nationally, there were 1.9 million foreclosure filings in the first six months of this year, a 15% increase from the first six months of 2008 this means that one in 84 homes received a foreclosure filing in the first half of the year. Now this does not mean that all these homes are now owned by banks, it means people fall into a range from being behind on their payments to being in default.
The escalating foreclosure crisis affected more than 1.5 million home owners (Jan. to June) and the increase can be a result of more people losing their jobs and now unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills. More than 336,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June. That works out to one in every 380 U.S. homes. This was the fourth-straight month in which more than 300,000 households receiving a foreclosure filing, which includes default notices and several other legal notices that homeowners receive before they finally lose their homes. Banks repossessed more than 79,000 homes in June, up from about 65,000 a month earlier.
The news shows that govement intervention with moratoriums at both the National and State level to encourage the lending industry to prevent foreclosures by handing out $50 billion in subsidies, the housing meltdown continues to spread. Experts don't expect foreclosures to peak until the middle of next year.
According to RealtyTrac, Foreclosure filings rose more than 33 percent in June compared with the same month last year and were up nearly 5 percent from May. Looking at the numbers on a state-by-state basis, Nevada had the nation's highest foreclosure rate in the first half of the year, with more than 6 percent of all households receiving a filing. Arizona was No. 2, followed by Florida, California and Utah.
The bright news being reported today is jobless claims are down.
The video is a Bloomberg Interview and discussion with Rick Sharga of the Realty Trac.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A Look at Home Sales Bands
Sometimes I wonder, if other people are as into breaking down data as much as I am, but when it comes to home sales it is all about the numbers. Looking and fining something new in the numbers is like prospecting and it makes it interesting to me.
For the past few weeks, I have wanted to look at the price bands for the Alameda Real Estate market. Price bands are good way to get a sense of how the market has been performing over the past six months.
The breakdown shows that most home sales are finding buyers in the $500,000 range. This is where 43 of the 197 sales were recorded. The $600,000 range accounted for another 42 sales. Combined the two bands accounted for 42 percent of the sales.
As most people would think the high and low ends of the market had the fewest number of sales. The Million Dollar market has almost vanished. With only three sales to date the Island has not seen a seven figure sales since April 7.
Since I was breaking down the data I also looked at sales by property type. Single family homes are still the driver in the market accounting for 68 percent of the sales. Condominiums represented 23 percent of the sales this year.
Link to Larger Chart
For the past few weeks, I have wanted to look at the price bands for the Alameda Real Estate market. Price bands are good way to get a sense of how the market has been performing over the past six months.
The breakdown shows that most home sales are finding buyers in the $500,000 range. This is where 43 of the 197 sales were recorded. The $600,000 range accounted for another 42 sales. Combined the two bands accounted for 42 percent of the sales.
As most people would think the high and low ends of the market had the fewest number of sales. The Million Dollar market has almost vanished. With only three sales to date the Island has not seen a seven figure sales since April 7.
Since I was breaking down the data I also looked at sales by property type. Single family homes are still the driver in the market accounting for 68 percent of the sales. Condominiums represented 23 percent of the sales this year.
The most interesting breakout was of home sales by square footage. This was spread almost evenly among a variety of home sizes. I shows to me that it not so much the home size, but the location of that home.
Hope that you find the numbers interesting.
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Link to Larger Chart
Monday, July 13, 2009
Increase in Alameda Foreclosures
Since the Fourth of July several new distressed properties were placed on the Alameda Real Estate market. In this one week period, foreclosures increased 43-percent with banked owned properties increasing from eight to fourteen.
In terms of the total inventory, foreclosures make up eight percent of the housing stock currently for sale on the Multiple Listing Service.
Adding to the distressed market was the addition of one more short sale. The three bedroom home at 1542 Sherman is now listed at $525,000. According to Zillow the home estimated value is $559,000 and is valued between $458,380-$609,310. The property has lost $3,000 in value the last 30 days.
Since the beginning of the year Alameda has recorded the sale of 47 properties that were in the distressed category. Of the 195 properties that have changed hands foreclosures account for 17 percent and short sales 7 percent of the total sales. That is nearly a quarter of all homes are in the distressed category.
Alameda foreclosure sales in 2009 represent nearly $15 Million in sales. The median sale price for an Alameda Foreclosure is $462,500 and the banks are getting roughly 98 percent of the asking price. The home that garnered the highest sale price at foreclosure was 601 Fortress Isle that sold for $738,000. The least expensive property was a condominium at the Park Webster that sold for $150,000.
Five properties sold for under $200,000; all were condominiums. Sixteen properties sold between $200,000 and $500,000 and 12 properties sold for over $500,000.
Short sales accounted for just over $6 Million in sales. The median sale price was $465,000. All thirteen properties sold between $330,000 and $680,000.
There appears to be more distressed properties heading to the market. RealtyTrac lists 71 properties that are Banked Owned, 60 that are a Trustee Sale (Auction) and a whopping 104 properties in pre-foreclosure.
In terms of the total inventory, foreclosures make up eight percent of the housing stock currently for sale on the Multiple Listing Service.
Adding to the distressed market was the addition of one more short sale. The three bedroom home at 1542 Sherman is now listed at $525,000. According to Zillow the home estimated value is $559,000 and is valued between $458,380-$609,310. The property has lost $3,000 in value the last 30 days.
Since the beginning of the year Alameda has recorded the sale of 47 properties that were in the distressed category. Of the 195 properties that have changed hands foreclosures account for 17 percent and short sales 7 percent of the total sales. That is nearly a quarter of all homes are in the distressed category.
Alameda foreclosure sales in 2009 represent nearly $15 Million in sales. The median sale price for an Alameda Foreclosure is $462,500 and the banks are getting roughly 98 percent of the asking price. The home that garnered the highest sale price at foreclosure was 601 Fortress Isle that sold for $738,000. The least expensive property was a condominium at the Park Webster that sold for $150,000.
Five properties sold for under $200,000; all were condominiums. Sixteen properties sold between $200,000 and $500,000 and 12 properties sold for over $500,000.
Short sales accounted for just over $6 Million in sales. The median sale price was $465,000. All thirteen properties sold between $330,000 and $680,000.
There appears to be more distressed properties heading to the market. RealtyTrac lists 71 properties that are Banked Owned, 60 that are a Trustee Sale (Auction) and a whopping 104 properties in pre-foreclosure.
With this type of data this week it looks like the Alameda market will need some time to clear out inventory.
Inventory Data for the Week
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Alameda Snapshot: Encinal Students and Cars 1955
This Alameda Snapshot is a classic photo from Encinal High School in 1955 as students stand by their cars. At the time Encinal was a brand new campus. Photo is courtesy of Vivian Young-Mc Donald.
Enjoy the weekend.
Enjoy the weekend.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
To Open Door You Need A Wad
Now that I have been a homeowner for nearly nine years the one question I continually ask is: “How can anyone afford a home in Alameda on a modest income?”
With 181 sales in Alameda for the first half of 2009 and average sale price of $555,911 it takes a hefty wad of cash just to open the door to homeownership.
At the average price of $555,911 to finance the deal in today’s market you need to save $111,182 for a twenty percent down payment. And once you beg, borrowed and saved for the down payment, you are looking at nearly $2,600 in monthly payments in just principal and interest plus another $7,000 in taxes and assessments and then home owners insurance.
Based on the above scenario you will need about $42,000 annually or $3,500 a month to cover monthly payments, taxes and insurance. To keep this cost at 30-percent of your take home pay the family income would need to $140,000 after taxes or over $11,000 per month. It looks like you need about $182,000 in earnings to buy the average home.
Your family would need to make over $90 an hour based on 251 work days at eight hours a day.
Boy that was a lot of math to get to “You need to make a lot of coin to buy a house in Alameda”
To see what I could buy based on a monthly payment I went over to the ZipRealty website to use their search tool. The reason is ZipRealty site allows to switch between list price of the home and search by monthly payment. The tool allow you change assumptions, because saving is tough I used 10-pecent down and 6-pecent loan.
So for monthly payment of $2,000 per month or less there were 17 properties. Fifteen of the seventeen were condominiums or townhomes. A three bedroom, two bathroom home at 1918 Chestnut were part of the results. The home is listed for $338,500 and based on the assumptions would be a monthly payment of $1,826.
I did a second search with just single family residences and booted the monthly payment to $2,500. This netted fourteen additional properties. Eight of the properties were 2 bedrooms and one was a 1 bedroom. The range of list prices was from $375,000 to $449,500.
A quick check on Craig’s List shows that based on 100 rentals of two bedrooms or larger Alameda is paying on Average $1,661. In fact I found 12 three bedrooms for under $2,000 per month.
I guess it was another long way to say that it takes a lot of cash to buy in Alameda and if you buy on the Island you are doing it for more than just a place to live.
P.S. If you are looking for homes it appears to be a big open house weekend. The Alameda Sun has 42 properties listed for showing, with several open Saturday and Sunday.
With 181 sales in Alameda for the first half of 2009 and average sale price of $555,911 it takes a hefty wad of cash just to open the door to homeownership.
At the average price of $555,911 to finance the deal in today’s market you need to save $111,182 for a twenty percent down payment. And once you beg, borrowed and saved for the down payment, you are looking at nearly $2,600 in monthly payments in just principal and interest plus another $7,000 in taxes and assessments and then home owners insurance.
Based on the above scenario you will need about $42,000 annually or $3,500 a month to cover monthly payments, taxes and insurance. To keep this cost at 30-percent of your take home pay the family income would need to $140,000 after taxes or over $11,000 per month. It looks like you need about $182,000 in earnings to buy the average home.
Your family would need to make over $90 an hour based on 251 work days at eight hours a day.
Boy that was a lot of math to get to “You need to make a lot of coin to buy a house in Alameda”
To see what I could buy based on a monthly payment I went over to the ZipRealty website to use their search tool. The reason is ZipRealty site allows to switch between list price of the home and search by monthly payment. The tool allow you change assumptions, because saving is tough I used 10-pecent down and 6-pecent loan.
So for monthly payment of $2,000 per month or less there were 17 properties. Fifteen of the seventeen were condominiums or townhomes. A three bedroom, two bathroom home at 1918 Chestnut were part of the results. The home is listed for $338,500 and based on the assumptions would be a monthly payment of $1,826.
I did a second search with just single family residences and booted the monthly payment to $2,500. This netted fourteen additional properties. Eight of the properties were 2 bedrooms and one was a 1 bedroom. The range of list prices was from $375,000 to $449,500.
A quick check on Craig’s List shows that based on 100 rentals of two bedrooms or larger Alameda is paying on Average $1,661. In fact I found 12 three bedrooms for under $2,000 per month.
I guess it was another long way to say that it takes a lot of cash to buy in Alameda and if you buy on the Island you are doing it for more than just a place to live.
P.S. If you are looking for homes it appears to be a big open house weekend. The Alameda Sun has 42 properties listed for showing, with several open Saturday and Sunday.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
What's a home worth?
What's a home worth? That is the biggest topic in Real Estate this week has been what the actual value of a home is to an appraiser.
Most buyers are unaware of an industry change in the home appraisal process that has begun stalling sales in many areas. The changes in appraisal rules have home sellers and real estate agents now find themselves fighting inaccurate home value appraisals in a tough market and making it even more difficult to sell.
The biggest issue is under an industry code of conduct that took effect May 1, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and loan officers are prohibited from selecting home appraisers. This has resulted in appraisers that are from outside an area pricing homes without local knowledge.
In a place like Alameda, a block in one direction can add or subtract value because of the neighborhood, schools or housing stock. An out of the area appraiser would not have that local knowledge.
The new rule was put into place because past practice of agents and mortgage brokers-who only make money when home sales and refinancing are completed pressured appraisers to modify estimates. There’s little doubt there was collusion nationwide in past years between some appraisers and lenders, which led to abuse and resulted in the new rules.
In order to avoid violating the rule that applies to mortgages that will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, called the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, many lenders are hiring companies that put together pools of appraisers and then assign them to individual housing transactions.
Real estate agents and mortgage brokers say the pool of out-of-area appraisers has led to an increase in questionable or low valuations by appraisers who are leery of producing estimates that are too high. Those appraisers from outside the housing market and unfamiliar with the nuances of neighborhoods to which they’re sent are being very Conservative.
National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun said the appraisal problem is serious. “Lenders are using appraisers who might not be familiar with a neighborhood, or who compare traditional homes with distressed and discounted sales,” he said. “In the past month, stories of appraisal problems have been snowballing from across the country with many contracts falling through at the last moment.”
Home appraisals that come in at lower-than-agreed-upon sale prices can kill deals and at the very least they could delay sales as the home buyer and agent working on details to rework the deal. From what I have been reading appraised values has been tough for high-end homes for which there now are few recent comparable sales.
This is just one more element that could delay the housing market recovery and increase foreclosures if appraisal problems are not quickly corrected. My suggestion is that if you believe a valuation is low on home that you are selling that you hire a local appraiser to get a second opinion.
Most buyers are unaware of an industry change in the home appraisal process that has begun stalling sales in many areas. The changes in appraisal rules have home sellers and real estate agents now find themselves fighting inaccurate home value appraisals in a tough market and making it even more difficult to sell.
The biggest issue is under an industry code of conduct that took effect May 1, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and loan officers are prohibited from selecting home appraisers. This has resulted in appraisers that are from outside an area pricing homes without local knowledge.
In a place like Alameda, a block in one direction can add or subtract value because of the neighborhood, schools or housing stock. An out of the area appraiser would not have that local knowledge.
The new rule was put into place because past practice of agents and mortgage brokers-who only make money when home sales and refinancing are completed pressured appraisers to modify estimates. There’s little doubt there was collusion nationwide in past years between some appraisers and lenders, which led to abuse and resulted in the new rules.
In order to avoid violating the rule that applies to mortgages that will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, called the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, many lenders are hiring companies that put together pools of appraisers and then assign them to individual housing transactions.
Real estate agents and mortgage brokers say the pool of out-of-area appraisers has led to an increase in questionable or low valuations by appraisers who are leery of producing estimates that are too high. Those appraisers from outside the housing market and unfamiliar with the nuances of neighborhoods to which they’re sent are being very Conservative.
National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun said the appraisal problem is serious. “Lenders are using appraisers who might not be familiar with a neighborhood, or who compare traditional homes with distressed and discounted sales,” he said. “In the past month, stories of appraisal problems have been snowballing from across the country with many contracts falling through at the last moment.”
Home appraisals that come in at lower-than-agreed-upon sale prices can kill deals and at the very least they could delay sales as the home buyer and agent working on details to rework the deal. From what I have been reading appraised values has been tough for high-end homes for which there now are few recent comparable sales.
This is just one more element that could delay the housing market recovery and increase foreclosures if appraisal problems are not quickly corrected. My suggestion is that if you believe a valuation is low on home that you are selling that you hire a local appraiser to get a second opinion.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Last Fourth of July Post
In addition to the photos I took I also shot some video. Here is my last Fourth of July post for this year.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Boom: Revised June Sales Pops
Bang! I am sure you heard several cracks, booms and bangs over the Forth of July weekend, and along with the celebration the Alameda Real Estate market had a last minute pop of closed sales to boost the month.
With twelve additional sales posted to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) over the long weekend it was cause for celebration. The last minute surge would take May from a very below performing to flat year-over-year with 41 sales in both 2008 and 2009.
The only down side to the revised numbers is median sale to list price drop from 98-percent to 97-percent. And the median sales price dropped from $607,000 to $599,000.
But overall it shows that sales are beginning to moving. The last minute sales impacted overall inventory.
The total number of units for sale dropped 12-units to 161.
Inventory Data
With twelve additional sales posted to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) over the long weekend it was cause for celebration. The last minute surge would take May from a very below performing to flat year-over-year with 41 sales in both 2008 and 2009.
The only down side to the revised numbers is median sale to list price drop from 98-percent to 97-percent. And the median sales price dropped from $607,000 to $599,000.
But overall it shows that sales are beginning to moving. The last minute sales impacted overall inventory.
The total number of units for sale dropped 12-units to 161.
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Inventory Data
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