What Became of the Blogathon?

It fizzled for awhile, and then rose Phoenix-like from the ashes.  I hope Phoenixes can fly, because it then flew (yes, I’m sticking with flew) to the east, to become the Amador and El Dorado County Blogathon for Hunger.  If you want to sign up for this one, please get the flier.

Berkeley Market Update - May 2006

May’s numbers for Berkeley continue to show an area where the normal rules of physics and economics don’t apply.

Hey, what do you want, it’s Berkeley.

Someone forgot to tell the area buyers that we’re in a housing recession or a bubble or some such, because Berkeley buyers purchased 65 residential units this May as against 61 last May — a 6.6% increase. At the same time, fewer homes expired this May (seven) than last (eight), bringing the already healthy 13.1% expired to sold ratio from last year down to a meager 10.8% this year.

Alright, I suppose there are a few signs of slowing. Days on market are up to 20, from 18. And appreciation has just about capped. This May’s median sale price of $730,000, is actually down 3.7% from last May’s $758,000. At the same time, this year’s average of $807,207 is up 2.4% over last year’s average, and the average sold price per square foot is up 6.6% over last year.

Blogathon Interuptus

Unfortunately I had to bail on the hunger blogathon, because in mid-verbose I had the privilege of being asked to serve on the development team for the good folks at People Finders.

So far that’s going really well, but it means I have to cut the blogging down to a more manageable level. But please don’t be discouraged from supporting the blogathon — those of you who pledged some amount per post should please make out a check for that amount times 35 to America’s Second Harvest — click the link to find out how to give.

Contra Costa County Community Info Pages

On Father’s Day I put together “posts” 17 through 27 in our Hunger Blogathon, in the form of the Community Info pages for Contra Costa County.

OK, granted there’s a little sleight of hand here, insofar as I want to further develop these pages going forward, so some of them are pretty primitive at this point.  Meantime, there should be anoher ten or so such pages coming out that will round out our Community pages for Alameda County.  But until we bake those half baked pages some more and add their Alameda County equivalents, this is Post 28 in our Hunger Marathon.

Stay tuned.

Antioch Real Estate - May 2006 Market Update

Antioch’s real estate market took a bit of a nosedive recently, and May’s showing was none too good. Last year two hundred units sold in May, versus 115 this year, a 42.5% decrease. At the same time, the expired to sold ratio has risen to 36.5%, while the available inventory has increased to 7.7 months. Days on market have doubled from last May’s 17 to an average of 34 this year.
Paradoxically, the average home that did sell in Anticoch in May went for slightly more than list price, listing for $523,472 and selling for $525,930. The median sale price was
$510,000.

This is Lucky Post 13 in our Hunger Blogathon.

Union City Market Update

May’s home sales in Union City show a city that has suffered somewhat more than others in the bay area from the recent market slowdown. Inventory is fairly high by local standards at 3.9 months.

Fifty-one units sold in Union City in May, down 31.1% from last year’s figure of 74 units. However, appreciation was fairly good, at 6.3% (sold price per square foot), and 11.3% (median price). The expired to sold ratio is up to 19.6%, compared to 5.4% last May.

This is the seventh post in our so far not overwhelmingly successful Blogathon for Hunger. It’s definitely not too late to get those pledges in, since we have 43 posts to go!

Fremont Market Update - May 2006

Fremont’s real estate market in May defies a neat characterization, but it’s safe to say it’s slowed slightly from last year. Fremont is still showing positive appreciation, however, and not all the numbers are as dramatic as they are in other markets (see our recent report on Oakland, for example).

For example, average days on market are up to 22. By any objective standard, that’s a pretty quick selling time. The news only looks bad when compared to last year’s average for Fremont of 12 days on market. Likewise, homes are still selling for fairly close to list price. With the average list price at $704,754 and the average sale price at $702,717, Excel blithely commits a rounding error and calls that “100%”.

Moreover, few listings expired this year — and the ratio of expireds to solds is only 10.9% compared to last year’s 9%. In an “off market” the number can climb as high as 50% or more.

In addition to surviving the so-called “bubble” fairly well, Fremont sellers are still enjoying some appreciation — albeit fairly modest. The average price appreciated 6.9% in May to May, the median 2.3%, and average sold price per square foot appreciated a more respectable 11.6%.

San Ramon Real Estate Market - May 2006

This is post 12 in our 50-post hunger blogathon. So far I’ve been a bit busy writing — and trying to take care of my real estate clients at the same time — so I haven’t had a lot of time to tell folks about this blogathon.

That’s probably the wrong way to get the word out. I may end up being my only sponsor.

Oh well, at least it’s an excuse to get some good articles published.

Meantime, San Ramon’s real estate market is doing quite well indeed in spite of the slowdown elsewere. Unit volume at seventy-seven sold units in May was comparable to last year’s seventy-nine sold units. With only twelve listings expiriing versus last year’s thirteen, it’s frankly difficult to see how San Ramon’s inventory ever crept up to almost five months, where it stands now.

On the flip side, appreciation was fairly flat in San Ramon over the last year. Adjusted for square footage, prices appreciated only .7% from May to May.

The average home that sold in May of 2006 listed for $891,346 and sold for 98% of list, at 877,324, after 19 days on market. The median sale price was $818,000.

Livermore California Real Estate Market

Livermore’s housing market for May of 2006 showed moderate slowing from last year compared to other areas in the East Bay. The average Livermore home that sold in May was 1705 square feet, listed for $722,305, and sold for 99% of list for an average sale price of $714,364. The median sale price was $622,500.

116 units sold in Livermore in May, practically indistinguishable from last year’s total of 116. At the same time, this year twenty-six units expired versus eight last year, inflating the expired to sold ratio from 7.0% to 22.4%. Average days on market are up to 26 this May, up from an incredibly swift average of 12 days last May. With 413 units active currently, inventory in Livermore is at 3.6 months.

This is Post 5 in our Hunger Blogathon.

Walnut Creek Real Estate Market Update

As part of our Hunger Blogathon (this is Post 14), we may publish an overview of Contra Costa County’s real estate market in a day or two. When we do, Walnut Creek is bound to come out as one of the winners. With fewer expireds this year than last and this year’s expired to sold ratio at only 5.7%, Walnut Creek joins Berkeley as one of our chief “market defying” areas.

Unit sales in Walnut Creek were only down 10.2% this May from last, with eighty-eight units selling in May. The average home sold after 15 days on the market, listed for $763,787 and sold for $755,881. The median sale price was 700,000.

Inventory in Walnut Creek is on the low side of moderate, at 3.4 months.

Hunger Charities

We’re on Post 4 of our America’s Second Harvest Blogathon, so I thought now would be a good time to make what may be a fairly obvious point, that America’s Second Harvest is not the only worthy charity that’s fighting hunger and poverty.

Indeed, JustGive.org has a couple of lists available of the many organizations that are fighting hunger on a National Level and a Global Level. Likewise, Looksmart has published this list of Hunger Charities and Organizations.’

Here in the Bay Area, local agencies fighting hunger include the Alameda County Food Bank and the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties.

Brentwood Real Estate Market - May 2006

Brentwood’s market for residential home sales showed substantial slowing in May 2006 from the same time a year ago, along with a price drop, according to MLS statistics. The median home price for May was $604,500, down .1% from last May’s median of $605,000. On a sold price per square foot basis, the drop was 4.5%, from $312 per square foot last May to $298 per square foot this May. The expired to sold ratio was 47.2% this May, and inventory is at 8.1 months.

The average home sold in Brentwood in May for $647,624, or 99% of the average list price of $655,061. Seventy-one units sold, down 24.2% from last May’s sales volume of ninety-five units.

This is Post 16 in our fabulous Blogathon in Support of America’s Second Harvest.

Pittsburg California Real Estate Market

Pittsburg’s Real Estate Market in May showed pretty significant slowing from last year. Average days on market in May increased by 50% over last May, from 14 days to 21. (In fairness to the drama of 50% — 21 days on average is not exactly forever). Meantime, unit volume was cut neatly in half of last year’s numbers — last year eighty-eight units sold in Pittsburg in May, this May the number was fourty-four.

The average home that sold in May in Pittsburg listed for $474,927, and sold for $476,453. The median sale price was $482,500. Sold price per square foot increased 2.2% since last May, from $317 per square foot to $324 per square foot.

Inventory is a very substantial seven months, one of the largest figures we’ve seen for any East Bay community.

This is Post 10 of 50 in our Fabulous East Bay Hunger Blogathon, now underway.

Hunger Blogathon First Sponsor

Well, I’ve just met my first sponsor, me! Yep, I decided to put my money where my keyboard is and become my own first sponsor of my hunger blogathon.

How simple was it? Really simple. I just followed my own instructions, and navigated over to the America’s Second Harvest online donation form, grabbed my trusty credit card, and was done in about two minutes.

Too easy, it felt good, and it gave me a topic for Post 15.  Since we’re on business day three, that means I’m officially caught up after being WAY BEHIND yesterday.

Whew…

Of course, now that I’ve sponsored myself, I have to try really hard to hit the fifty-post mark.

Real Estate Market - Danville, California

Danville put in a strong showing in May, 2006, compared to other markets. Unit volume was down only 10% from last year’s sixty units to fifty-four sold units. At the same time, the number of expireds actually decreased from last year, whereas in most markets it has increased. As a result, the expired to sold ratio went down from 13.3% in May of 2005 to 11.1% in May of 2006. Inventory is about average for the Bay Area at 4.3%.

The average home that sold in Danville listed for $971,503 and sold for 99% of list for $964,300. The median sale price was $935,000.

Appreciation was fairly flat on a sold price per square foot basis, at only .9% over last year. Last May’s average Danville home commanded $448 per square foot; this May’s average was $452 per square foot.

With numbers like these, we suspect that many of you Danville folks are very well fed indeed, so please consider supporting our Hunger Blogathon — and by the way, this is Post 11.

Concord Market Update - May 2006

As in most local real estate markets we’ve examined, Concord’s real estate sales in May were off compared to last year. However, Concord’s showing was pretty typical of the East Bay in general.

Unit volume in May stood at 143 sold units, down 35.3% from last May, but inventory currently is moderate at 4.4 months. The expired to sold ratio increased quite a bit from the inconsequential 3.2% of last May to a still-not-all-that-bad 20.3% this May. Days on market are up, from an average of 12 last May to an average of 26 this May.

Appreciation was fairly flat from year to year. On a sold price per square foot basis, home sale prices appreciated .8%, from $381 per square foot in May 2005 to $384 per square foot in 2006.

In May of 2006, the average home listed for $542,447, and sold slightly higher at $543,042. The median sale price was $548,000.

This is Post 9 in our Blogathon for Hunger.

Blogathon for Hunger Continues - Pleasanton Market Update

Residential sales through the MLS in Pleasanton in May of 2006 were fairly strong, with good appreciation from last year. The average home sold in Pleasanton in May for $926,515, or 98% of the average list price of $943,410. On the face of it, average appreciation looked really great at 15.2%. However, this May’s “average” home was significantly larger than last May’s, and adjusted for square footage the appreciation was a more moderate 5.9%.

Expireds were up slightly, from five last May to fourteen this May, pushing the expired to sold ratio from 5.1% to 17.5%. The latter number is still low, however, and shows that there is still excellent demand. Unit volume was down from last year by 19.2%, less of a decrease than in other markets.

Inventory is currently at 3.7 months.

This is our eighth post of fifty in our Blogaton for Hunger

Alameda Real Estate Market

Readers of the blog will be familiar with the story we have to tell about the real estate market in Alameda — “slowed somewhat, but not bad compared to other areas”.

May’s real estate sales in Alameda were off 15.4% in terms of unit volume from last year, with 55 units selling as against last year’s 65. The average home that sold spent twenty-seven days on market, as compared to sixteen last year. The expired to sold ratio is up, but not alarmingly so, from 4.6% last year to 20% this year. Inventory is fairly low at 2.6 months.

May’s average home sold for $695,011, or 1% over the average list price of $688,891. The median price increased only marginally from May to May, ending up at $665,000, or 1.5% over last year’s median of $655,000. On a sold price per square foot basis, however, appreciation was higher at 6.1%.

This is post 6 of the 50-post blogathon for hunger.

Real Estate Market Update - San Leandro, California

San Leandro’s real estate sales held up extremely well in May of 2006 given the downturn in the real estate market generally. Numbers were off slightly, but one needn’t look hard to find lots of good news as well.

For example, inventory in San Leandro (as of 6/13/06) stands at about 2.3 months, a very low number compared to other areas. Unit volume is down only 16.2% from last year, based on 111 units sold in May of 2005 through the MLS versus 93 units in May of 2006. Days on market are up, but this year’s average of 21 days is not exactly the stuff of disaster movies.

The average home sold in San Leandro in May for $568,502, just slightly above the average list price of $566,026. The median sale price was $569,000, up 7.4% from last May’s median of $530,000. This May’s crop of homes was significantly smaller — 1295 square feet on average — than last May’s average of 1501 square feet..
Expireds are up only slightly, from 10 overall last May to 14 this May, bringing the expired to sold ratio up to 15.1% from 9% last May. Note that 15.1% is still a very “sellers-market” sort of a number. Taken along with inventory, it represents a market that’s thriviing quite nicely in spite of national trends.

Oh, and by the way, blogathon fans, this is Post 3 in the America’s Second Harvest Blogathon. Have you eaten today? I have.

Blogathon for Hunger

Hayward Market Update - May 2006

Our real estate market update for last month for Hayward is entry two in our Blogathon for Hunger. Let’s hope the phones start ringing soon, otherwise I’ll face the dismal prospect that my market updates have failed to capture the dazzling audience I’d hoped for.

Anyhow, on to Hayward. Hayward’s residential real estate sales in May were down somewhat from last year (surprise, surprise), but like much of the Bay area the numbers were not all that bad.

Apprecitation was excellent in Hayward from May to May compared to other areas. Though the median sale price increased only 4.6% and the average only increased 4.2%, the sold cost per square foot increased by 10.5% from May to May. The average home sold in Hayward in May through the MLS for 574,081, 1% more than the average list of $568,011. (You can see some cooling in the “spread” or “swing” — last year the average home sold for fully four per cent more than the list price).

Days on market were up from a mere 14 days last year to a “still not bad” 27 days on average this May. Similarly, the expired to sold ratio rose from 10.7% last May to 27.4% this May, but that’s still not bad by current standards. For comparison purposes, check out the may numbers for this Placer County Community.

Blogathon for Hunger

I’ve set an ambitious goal for myself for this site over the next several days. I am making an effort to produce fifty new pages of web site content in ten business days. That means I have until the 27th to write fifty brand new web site pages, blog entries, or the like.

Having set such a goal for myself, I thought it might be a good idea to also see if some other good could come of this attempt besides simply having a bunch more pages kicking around. With this in mind, I’ve decided to turn my rampant verbosity into a Blogathon for Hunger — to support the efforts of America’s Second Harvest.

If anyone’s interested in sponsoring this effort, please check out the online donation page of America’s Second Harvest, and decide in advance how much you’ll send them for each page I do (e.g., $1.00 = one page). Please don’t send any money to me directly, but instead send a check or pay America’s Second Harvest online. I’m just some guy trying to build a neat real estate web site — Second Harvest are the folks who are making a real difference in fighting hunger in America every day.

If you drop me an email letting me know you’re sponsoring me, that’ll help, because I can write about some of the folks sponsoring me. Anonymously, if you like. To be honest, I’m a bit concerned that I won’t hit the 50 page mark, but I do hope you’ll consider paying $37 if I hit 37 pages, for example.

The market update pages are easy enough to do — I can bang those out in a half hour or less each, but the constraint there is that I’ve already done some for this month, and there are only so many communities to do.

Also, normally I use a lot of “publish to the future” to spread these posts out, so I should think of a good way to publish the total results. I’ll work that out someohow, but don’t be surprised if “5 Pages” appears chronogically after “10 pages” or the like.

Anyway, yes, you guessed it — this is One Page. Go, man, go.

Technorati Tag: Blogathon for Hunger.