Alameda Real Estate: Odds, Ends and Inventory

Just a quick post today. The Alameda home inventory is down from the prior two weeks, and if you look at the chart below you can see the steep decline since July. If this was a ski slope it would be a lots of fun, but this line just makes the market sluggish.



The market add three new foreclosures this past week and you can see that distressed properties make up almost 30 percent of the Island's inventory. Distressed properties have made up 25 percent of the market since November. I think that this trend is going to continue most of this year.




The inventory for week shows that single family residence are still below 60 units. Of the 56 units for sale 16 of those properties are either a short sale or foreclosure; this is 29 percent of the inventory. If you are looking on Bay Farm the inventory 25 units, so buyers do not have much selection.

I would expect a bit of a sales run as the Federal Tax Credit comes to a close in April (buyers need to be in contract by April 30, 2010) on lower end properties that would fit the income limits for buyers. Until the market gains new inventory prices will be low and sales will be slow.

Alameda Inventory: February 12, 2010

. . 2/15/2010 . Total 109 . 94501 84 . 94502 25 . SFR 56 . Condo 32 . Multi-Family 19 . Short Sale 18 . Foreclosure 14 . Price Reductions 32 . High List $1,999,000 . Low List $199,900 .

Increase in Single Family Homes For Sale

This week the Alameda Real Estate Inventory showed a niced increase with an additional nine units for sale. The increase in Single Family Residences was the most positive part of the increase in inventory.

The SFR market was below 60 units for the past seven weeks, so any bump even a small one is encouraging. Since most of the Island's housing stock is SFRs then an increase in this category is good for the current market, which has been suffering from a lack of inventory. There are 11 news single family listing since last Monday.

New Listings

. List Date List Price Adress Beds Baths Sq Feet Type . 2/5/2010 $648,000 336 LINA AVENUE 4 3.5 3150 SFR . 2/5/2010 $549,000 2015 BUENA VISTA AVENUE 2 1 1318 SFR . 2/5/2010 $619,900 404 KITTY HAWK RD 3 2 1438 SFR . 2/5/2010 $430,000 3116 LA CRESTA 3 2.5 1628 TNHS . 2/4/2010 $450,000 2017 LINCOLN AVENUE 3 2.5 1443 SFR . 2/4/2010 $639,000 404 CAMDEN RD 3 2 1503 SFR . 2/4/2010 $698,000 227 INVERNESS CT 3 2.5 1891 SFR . 2/3/2010 $565,000 7 KINGSBURY COURT 2 3.5 1503 CONDO . 2/3/2010 $470,000 3037 LINDA VI 3 2.5 1628 TNHS . 2/2/2010 $354,900 1819 UNION ST 2 1 997 SFR . 2/1/2010 $250,000 1825 SHORELINE DR #112 1 1 621 CONDO . 2/1/2010 $517,000 1618 6TH ST 2 2 1422 SFR . 2/1/2010 $310,000 447 LINCOLN AVE 2 1 722 SFR . 2/1/2010 $1,300,000 2809 SEA VIEW PKWY 5 3 2744 SFR . 2/1/2010 $779,000 105 SHEFFIELD RD 4 2 1954 SFR

Overall, Inventory still remains low, but relative to the the current sales levels it may be an appropriate level of housing stock until more buyers come to the market. This is the proverbial chicken and egg; in this case buyer and seller. More people will sell when they have people to buy and buyers will buy when there is something that fits their needs to buy.

A shift needs to happen to shake the market loose, but until then I will just continue to monitor the numbers.

Alameda Inventory February 8, 2010

. . 2/8/2010 . Total 113 . 94501 89 . 94502 24 . SFR 61 . Condo 31 . Multi-Family 19 . Short Sale 18 . Foreclosure 11 . Price Reductions 29 . High List $1,999,000 . Low List $188,000 .

Alameda Snapshot: Empty Again

It appears that the New Zealander has closed leaving the historic Croll's building empty again. Here is an Alameda Snapshot of the beautiful stain glass incorporated in the building.

January A Fizzle For Home Sales

After a strong close to Alameda home sales in the final four months of a lackluster 2009 in, 2010 started with a completed fizzle. The first month of this year so far has recorded just 16 sales. This is the lowest total I have seen in the three years of data that I have compiled.

For a reference, January 2007 had 37 sales and 2008 and 2009 recorded 21 sales in the opening month of the year. The year-over-year decline is 24 percent and the month-over-month change is a decrease of 59 percent.



Typically January and February are slow months for home sales, but the unusually slow sales have been compounded by a lack of (new or good) inventory for buyers to choose from and the difficulty for many to still secure financing.

Because the sales were low the Alameda median home sale price dropped to $477,800. This is $91,200 drop from December or a 16 percent decline. The positive is that it is higher than January 2009’s $457,000. The high median sales price in 2009 was $594,000 in June.

January 2010 Alameda Home Sales

. Sales Date Address Type List Price Sale Price % . 1/5/2010 1041 CAMINO DEL VALLE TNH $365,000 $378,000 104% . 1/6/2010 1428 UNION ST SFR $825,000 $801,000 97% . 1/6/2010 1533 MOZART ST SFR $350,000 $335,000 96% . 1/8/2010 1547 B SANTA CLARA AVE SFR $575,000 $530,000 92% . 1/8/2010 2815 OTIS DR SFR $459,000 $426,000 93% . 1/8/2010 2031 OTIS DR #F CONDO $279,900 $285,000 102% . 1/8/2010 16 CALLAN PL SFR $1,850,000 $1,795,000 97% . 1/12/2010 1367 HANSEN AVE SFR $679,000 $679,000 100% . 1/12/2010 1560 LINCOLN UNIT C SFR $230,900 $210,000 91% . 1/13/2010 653 CENTRE COURT TNH $479,000 $483,600 101% . 1/13/2010 1825 SHORELINE DRIVE #213 CONDO $239,000 $245,000 103% . 1/15/2010 2140 CLINTON AVE. MFR $995,000 $880,000 88% . 1/15/2010 1554 4TH ST SFR $499,000 $530,000 106% . 1/15/2010 801 PARK STREET SFR $509,900 $490,000 96% . 1/15/2010 430 COLA BALLENA #C CONDO $484,000 $472,000 98% . 1/26/2010 2031 OTIS DR #G CONDO $215,000 $210,000 98% . Median $477,800 . Average $546,850 .

Alameda Landmark Now A Short Sale

Sorry about the lack of posts last week, but have been under the weather and did not feel much like writing.

Here is today's home inventory for Alameda and the data shows a nice upswing in inventory this week. In total the Island is up 11 more units than last week, but there is a concerning underlying element in the numbers that is cause for concern.

Five of the 11 units for sale are distressed properties; our of the properties are short sales. If this trend holds it is a sign that people are continuing to struggle with their mortgages and can not hold on at the current rate.

Three of the four short sale listings add this week were townhome/condos. The only exception is The Webster House at 1238 Versailles Avenue. Built in 1854 this is a City landmark and now a victim of the housing downturn. According to the listing comment it is a: Historical gem currently used as a bed & breakfast & tea house (business being sold separately). Fully remodeled w/ commercial kitchen & charming touches throughout. Large grounds, set far back from the street w/ great curb appeal.

Distressed properties are 35 percent of Alameda's inventory. Inventory growth is a good thing given the City has less than three months of it, but at the cost of others losing their property this can have other social impact.

Alameda Inventory -- February 1, 2010

. . 2/1/2010 . Total 104 . 94501 82 . 94502 22 . SFR 54 . Condo 29 . Multi-Family 19 . Short Sale 19 . Foreclosure 10 . Price Reductions 28 . High List $1,999,000 . Low List $188,000 .