Traditional wisdom is that when the market adjusts downward, the first segment of the market to feel the price drops is the condo market. Today I thought it would be illuminating to look at condo sales for July of 2006 in Oakland, to see how much the sales are off. Sure enough, the median sale price is down slighty (2.04%), from last July’s median of $393,000 to this July’s value of $385,000. On a sold price per square foot basis, however, prices are down only by a very slight margin, of .21%.
Meantime, inventory is quite high at 7.6 months, and many of the units that are for sale are expiring. Last July, five units expired versus 52 sold, for an expired to sold ratio of 9.6%. This year the numbers are 22 expireds to 37 solds, putting the ratio at 59.5%.
The average condo that sold through the MLS in July of 2006 listed for $415,837 and sold for $418,795. The median sale price was $385,00.