Glen’s East Bay Housing Numbers Through January 2011

We’re one month into 2011 & here is the latest edition of my East Bay Housing Numbers.

• January brought an increase in inventory, up 5.4%. However, the number of listings still far exceed the levels we saw at the same time last year. There are now 6,582 homes listed in the 38 cities that I cover, as compared to 4,289 for last January. The months supply now sits at 3.3 months, still well above the 2 month supply we saw last year.

• Pending sales, (homes that have gone into contract), have remained relatively flat, now at 5,342. This is below the levels we saw last January, at 6,164.

• Our Pending/Active Ratio has slightly decreased to .81, still indicating that we are, on the whole, in a “buyer’s market.”

• Sales remain sluggish. We’re seeing, as a trend in most cities, days on market slowly increasing, median prices decreasing slightly and the average sales price coming down slightly in comparison to the average list price.

After experiencing a slight double dip in Bay Area home prices, it’s starting to look like we might be closer to a true bottom.

From Carolyn Said’s recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle: Home prices to hit bottom this year, report says…

Stan Humphries, Zillow Chief economist, predicts that the Bay Area and many other markets should hit bottom this year – but that doesn’t mean values will start rising anytime soon.

“I expect a long, flat bottom,” he said. “Most markets will remain in malaise for an extended period of time. It will take at least three years to see more normal appreciation rates, i.e., in the 2 to 4 percent range.”

The reasons? The foreclosure pipeline is still clogged with properties, many homeowners are underwater and unemployment continues apace. About 23 percent of Bay Area homeowners with a mortgage are underwater, owing more than their house is worth.

Home values in the Bay Area experienced a “double dip.” They had risen for five consecutive quarters under the influence of federal and state home-buying tax credits, only to fall again in both the third and fourth quarter of 2010.

As always, I’m available if you want to talk about the market, or explore your options for buying, selling or investing in East Bay real estate. You can reach me directly at 510.333.4460.

You can download the entire copy of Glens East Bay Housing Numbers through Jan-2011 here