January 21, 2010
La Jolla, CA.----The Bay Area housing market last month continued its step-by-step climb up from the bottom with upticks in sales as well as prices. Many of the underlying trends are shifting slowly, if at all, indicating sluggish change in market fundamentals, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 7,828 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region last month. That was up 13.8 percent from 6,878 in November, and up 13.6 percent from 6,889 for December 2008, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.
An increase from November to December is normal for the season. Last month’s year-over-year increase was the 16th in a row. The sales count was the highest for a December since 8,372 homes were sold in December 2006. Sales for Decembers since 1988 have ranged from 5,065 in 2007 to 12,349 in 2003, while the average is 8,762.
“A couple of years from now, when looking back, there’s a good chance we’ll refer to the beginning of 2009 as the bottom of the market. But that doesn’t mean we’re anywhere near normal yet. Sales distribution is still lopsided towards lower-cost homes, driven by tax incentives and distress activity. Whole mortgage categories don’t exist for buyers. Putting a deal together is excruciating, like swimming in molasses. We don’t expect much genuine improvement until lending institutions re-open their spigots,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.
The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $380,000 in December. That was down 1.8 percent from $387,000 for the month before, and up 15.2 percent from $330,000 for December 2008. Last month was the third in a row with a year-over-year gain, after 22 months of decline. The median hit bottom at $290,000 last March, well off the $665,000 peak reached in June and July of 2007.
Foreclosure resales – homes sold in December that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up 32.3 percent of all resale activity. That was up from a revised 31.9 percent in November, and down from 48.3 percent in December 2008. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52 percent of resales in February 2009.
Federally-insured FHA loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, made up 25.6 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans last month. That was up from 25.1 percent in November, 22.8 percent a year ago and less than 0.5 percent two years ago.
Home loans for more than $417,000, the old “jumbo” limit, used to account for more than 60 percent of the Bay Area’s purchase financing. Last month it was 29.8 percent. That percentage rose from 17.1 in January 2009 to 28.7 last June. It has since remained at roughly 30 percent.
From the beginning of 2000 until August 2007, 61 percent of the Bay Area’s home purchase loans were adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). Last month it was 8 percent, up from 7.9 percent the month before, and up from 5.1 percent in December 2008.
The increased availability of jumbo loans and ARMs is considered essential to a continued normalization of the Bay Area housing market.
The most active lenders to Bay Area home buyers last month were Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
San Diego-based MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda and San Mateo counties.
Last month absentee buyers purchased 17.9 percent of all Bay Area homes sold, while buyers who appeared to have paid all cash – meaning there was no corresponding purchase loan – accounted for 22.7 percent of sales.
The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,619 last month, down from $1,639 the previous month, and up from $1,471 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 38.4 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 54.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is off its recent peak but remains high by historical standards. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and non-owner occupied buying is above-average in some markets, MDA DataQuick reported.
Sales Volume Median Price
All homes Dec-08 Dec-09 %Chng Dec-08 Dec-09 %Chng
Alameda 1,492 1,552 4.0% $338,000 $360,000 6.5%
Contra Costa 1,788 1,634 -8.6% $252,500 $287,500 13.90%
Marin 165 265 60.6% $562,500 $635,000 12.90%
Napa 111 128 15.3% $402,500 $356,000 -11.60%
Santa Clara 1,265 1,915 51.4% $436,000 $475,000 8.9%
San Francisco 366 499 36.3% $616,500 $650,000 5.4%
San Mateo 435 642 47.6% $537,000 $586,500 9.2%
Solano 733 698 -4.8% $213,500 $217,500 1.9%
Sonoma 534 495 -7.3% $300,000 $330,000 10.00%
Bay Area 6,889 7,828 13.6% $330,000 $380,000 15.20%
Source: MDA DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com
Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157 or John Karevoll (909) 867-9534
Copyright 2009 DataQuick Information Systems. All rights reserved.
Friday, January 29, 2010
2009 Fork-it-over Award Winner
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Congratulations to Brigette O'Connor for "forking over" the most files in 2009. Brigette had a very successful year with 30+ transactions.
We would also like to give an honorable mention to Marie Norris who also had 30+ transactions in 2009.
We honor and value your continued business and dedicate our business growth through yours.
Thanks again to everyone, and here's to a promising 2010.
Congratulations to Brigette O'Connor for "forking over" the most files in 2009. Brigette had a very successful year with 30+ transactions.
We would also like to give an honorable mention to Marie Norris who also had 30+ transactions in 2009.
We honor and value your continued business and dedicate our business growth through yours.
Thanks again to everyone, and here's to a promising 2010.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Webtool Tip: New Password Security Feature
Hello! We wanted to let all our existing users know that we have upgraded the security on our web site. This means you can now go straight to your transaction page by entering in the following URL:
trinaddie.com/yourfirstnameyourlastname.html
Here is an example (not a real link):
trinaddie.com/johnsmith.html
The system will automatically prompt you to log on using your existing username and password.
This upgrade also allows our users to access our webtool from your iPhone or Blackberry. No need for an app, it works great from your phones internet browser!
If you prefer, you can still use the old log on page:
trinaddie.com/logon.html
However, please note the system will require you to log on twice. So to save time, and to access your transactions on the go from your cell phone, please bookmark your transaction page.
If you experience any problems at all, please contact us so we can help.
trinaddie.com/yourfirstnameyourlastname.html
Here is an example (not a real link):
trinaddie.com/johnsmith.html
The system will automatically prompt you to log on using your existing username and password.
This upgrade also allows our users to access our webtool from your iPhone or Blackberry. No need for an app, it works great from your phones internet browser!
If you prefer, you can still use the old log on page:
trinaddie.com/logon.html
However, please note the system will require you to log on twice. So to save time, and to access your transactions on the go from your cell phone, please bookmark your transaction page.
If you experience any problems at all, please contact us so we can help.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
2009 Archived Files
Just a quick reminder, now that we have entered a new year, all of your closed and cancelled files of 2009 have been moved to your personal archived section on our webtool. You can find these files under your account by clicking the 'My Archives' link.
Your active listings and escrows that carry over to 2010 will remain on your main transaction page as usual.
As of 2010 we have a new web feature that allows you to view all your backed-up files on our site, no matter the file status. You can view these by clicking on the "Backed-up Files" link, next to your name under your main transaction page.
Please let us know if you have any questions at all!
Your active listings and escrows that carry over to 2010 will remain on your main transaction page as usual.
As of 2010 we have a new web feature that allows you to view all your backed-up files on our site, no matter the file status. You can view these by clicking on the "Backed-up Files" link, next to your name under your main transaction page.
Please let us know if you have any questions at all!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Bring on 2010!
Happy New Year everyone! Don't be alarmed when you log on to your account and don't see your 2009 closings. Just a reminder that all of your closed and canceled files for 2009 will now be to your "My Archive" section of the website. Your active listings and current escrows carrying over to 2010 will remain on your main transaction page.
Because the archive section expires after a certain amount of time, you may notice some info become inaccessible. A new feature is being added this year where you can also access your active and closed files under the "Back Up Files" section of the website.
Starting this year you will be able to view, download, or print any inspection reports, signed disclosures, and contract docs. All emails, contact info and calendars will be loaded there after close.
Because the archive section expires after a certain amount of time, you may notice some info become inaccessible. A new feature is being added this year where you can also access your active and closed files under the "Back Up Files" section of the website.
Starting this year you will be able to view, download, or print any inspection reports, signed disclosures, and contract docs. All emails, contact info and calendars will be loaded there after close.
Bay Area home sales and median price top last year again
December 19, 2009
La Jolla, CA.----The median price paid for a Bay Area home rose above the year-ago level for the second consecutive month, a reflection of widening price stability, fewer foreclosures selling and more activity in pricier areas. Sales dipped below October but were higher than a year earlier for the 15th consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.
The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos that closed escrow in the nine-county Bay Area last month was $387,000. That was down 0.8 percent from $390,000 in October but up 10.6 percent from $350,000 in November 2008, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.
Prior to its 4 percent annual gain in October this year, the median sale price hadn’t risen on a year-over-year basis since November 2007, when it gained 1.5 percent. Last month’s median was 33.4 percent higher than this year’s low point – $290,000 in March – but was still 41.8 percent lower than the $665,000 peak reached in June and July of 2007.
“The latest stats show just how much the Bay Area market has changed in a year,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president. “Financial distress is still a problem with many borrowers, but for now cheap foreclosures have lost their leading role in this housing drama. In the short run, we’ll be comparing the new data to some ridiculously low median sale prices a year earlier – medians severely skewed back then by so many inland foreclosures selling, and so few coastal high-end sales.”
“Statistical quirks aside, the longer-term outlook for home values is far from clear,” he continued. “A lot of people sense lenders are holding back, and that there’s at least one more round of foreclosures lurking around the corner. Combine that with less government stimulus in 2010, and it would threaten whatever price stability we see now.”
A total of 6,878 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 13.3 percent from 7,933 sales in October but up 19.5 percent from 5,756 sales in November 2008. A decline in sales between October and November is normal.
Last month’s sales were the highest for a November since 2006 but were still 14.6 percent lower than the November sales average of 8,050 since 1988, when DataQuick’s stats begin. November sales have ranged from a low of 5,127 in 2007 to a high of 11,906 in 2004. On average since 1988, sales have dropped 8.3 percent between October and November.
Sales in the region’s higher-cost counties – Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo – represented 42.3 percent of November sales, up from 35.0 percent a year ago, when more sales were concentrated in the lower-cost inland areas steeped in foreclosures. Homes selling for more than $500,000 made up 36.5 percent of all transactions last month, up from 31.3 percent a year ago and a low this year of 22.7 percent in January.
Foreclosure resales – homes sold in November that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up 32.5 percent of all resale activity. That was up from 31.3 percent in October but down from 46.8 percent in November 2008. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52 percent of resales in February this year.
The recent decline in foreclosure resales follows a generally downward trend this year in the number of homes being foreclosed on. It’s mainly because lenders and loan servicers have increasingly pursued short sales and loan modifications as an alternative to the costly foreclosure process. The declining inventory of lower-cost foreclosures has been key to stabilizing the housing market, along with the federal government’s efforts to boost housing demand through lower mortgage rates, tax incentives and plentiful, low-down-payment FHA financing.
Federally-insured FHA loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, made up 26.3 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans last month. That was up from 25.4 percent in October, 19.7 percent a year ago and less than 0.5 percent two years ago.
Meanwhile, the availability of financing for pricier homes has improved modestly in recent months, though such “jumbo” loans remain relatively expensive and difficult to obtain.
Mortgages above $417,000 – formerly the definition of a jumbo loan – made up 29.5 percent of all home purchase loans last month. That was down from 30.9 percent in October but up from 24.0 percent a year ago. More than 60 percent of purchase loans were over $417,000 before the August 2007 credit crunch hit.
Another fuel source for high-end sales – adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – continues to be used far less than what’s normal historically but has trended higher lately. In November, 8.0 percent of Bay Area purchase loans were ARMs, down slightly from 8.3 in October but up from 5.9 percent a year earlier. ARMs fell to a record low of 3.0 percent in January this year. ARMs had averaged 61 percent of the region’s purchase loans this decade up until August 2007.
Last month absentee buyers purchased 15.7 percent of all Bay Area homes sold, while buyers who appeared to have paid all cash – meaning there was no corresponding purchase loan – accounted for 22.4 percent of sales, based on an analysis of public records.
San Diego-based MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda and San Mateo counties.
The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,639 last month, down from $1,665 the previous month, and down from $1,695 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 37.8 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 52.2 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is off its recent peak but remains high by historical standards, with mortgage default notices flattening or trending lower in some areas, but edging higher in others. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and non-owner occupied buying is above-average in some markets, MDA DataQuick reported.
Sales Volume Median Price
All homes Nov-08 Nov-09 %Chng Nov-08 Nov-09 %Chng
Alameda 1,182 1,323 11.90% $356,500 $363,000 1.80%
Contra Costa 1,423 1,472 3.40% $265,000 $290,000 9.40%
Marin 155 237 52.90% $625,000 $600,000 -4.00%
Napa 93 104 11.80% $406,500 $380,750 -6.30%
Santa Clara 1,120 1,649 47.20% $450,000 $494,500 9.90%
San Francisco 340 499 46.80% $648,000 $650,000 0.30%
San Mateo 398 525 31.90% $580,500 $587,550 1.20%
Solano 596 621 4.20% $234,500 $220,000 -6.20%
Sonoma 449 448 -0.20% $310,000 $325,050 4.90%
Bay Area 5,756 6,878 19.50% $350,000 $387,000 10.60%
Source: MDA DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com
La Jolla, CA.----The median price paid for a Bay Area home rose above the year-ago level for the second consecutive month, a reflection of widening price stability, fewer foreclosures selling and more activity in pricier areas. Sales dipped below October but were higher than a year earlier for the 15th consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.
The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos that closed escrow in the nine-county Bay Area last month was $387,000. That was down 0.8 percent from $390,000 in October but up 10.6 percent from $350,000 in November 2008, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.
Prior to its 4 percent annual gain in October this year, the median sale price hadn’t risen on a year-over-year basis since November 2007, when it gained 1.5 percent. Last month’s median was 33.4 percent higher than this year’s low point – $290,000 in March – but was still 41.8 percent lower than the $665,000 peak reached in June and July of 2007.
“The latest stats show just how much the Bay Area market has changed in a year,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president. “Financial distress is still a problem with many borrowers, but for now cheap foreclosures have lost their leading role in this housing drama. In the short run, we’ll be comparing the new data to some ridiculously low median sale prices a year earlier – medians severely skewed back then by so many inland foreclosures selling, and so few coastal high-end sales.”
“Statistical quirks aside, the longer-term outlook for home values is far from clear,” he continued. “A lot of people sense lenders are holding back, and that there’s at least one more round of foreclosures lurking around the corner. Combine that with less government stimulus in 2010, and it would threaten whatever price stability we see now.”
A total of 6,878 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was down 13.3 percent from 7,933 sales in October but up 19.5 percent from 5,756 sales in November 2008. A decline in sales between October and November is normal.
Last month’s sales were the highest for a November since 2006 but were still 14.6 percent lower than the November sales average of 8,050 since 1988, when DataQuick’s stats begin. November sales have ranged from a low of 5,127 in 2007 to a high of 11,906 in 2004. On average since 1988, sales have dropped 8.3 percent between October and November.
Sales in the region’s higher-cost counties – Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo – represented 42.3 percent of November sales, up from 35.0 percent a year ago, when more sales were concentrated in the lower-cost inland areas steeped in foreclosures. Homes selling for more than $500,000 made up 36.5 percent of all transactions last month, up from 31.3 percent a year ago and a low this year of 22.7 percent in January.
Foreclosure resales – homes sold in November that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up 32.5 percent of all resale activity. That was up from 31.3 percent in October but down from 46.8 percent in November 2008. Foreclosure resales peaked at 52 percent of resales in February this year.
The recent decline in foreclosure resales follows a generally downward trend this year in the number of homes being foreclosed on. It’s mainly because lenders and loan servicers have increasingly pursued short sales and loan modifications as an alternative to the costly foreclosure process. The declining inventory of lower-cost foreclosures has been key to stabilizing the housing market, along with the federal government’s efforts to boost housing demand through lower mortgage rates, tax incentives and plentiful, low-down-payment FHA financing.
Federally-insured FHA loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, made up 26.3 percent of all Bay Area purchase loans last month. That was up from 25.4 percent in October, 19.7 percent a year ago and less than 0.5 percent two years ago.
Meanwhile, the availability of financing for pricier homes has improved modestly in recent months, though such “jumbo” loans remain relatively expensive and difficult to obtain.
Mortgages above $417,000 – formerly the definition of a jumbo loan – made up 29.5 percent of all home purchase loans last month. That was down from 30.9 percent in October but up from 24.0 percent a year ago. More than 60 percent of purchase loans were over $417,000 before the August 2007 credit crunch hit.
Another fuel source for high-end sales – adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – continues to be used far less than what’s normal historically but has trended higher lately. In November, 8.0 percent of Bay Area purchase loans were ARMs, down slightly from 8.3 in October but up from 5.9 percent a year earlier. ARMs fell to a record low of 3.0 percent in January this year. ARMs had averaged 61 percent of the region’s purchase loans this decade up until August 2007.
Last month absentee buyers purchased 15.7 percent of all Bay Area homes sold, while buyers who appeared to have paid all cash – meaning there was no corresponding purchase loan – accounted for 22.4 percent of sales, based on an analysis of public records.
San Diego-based MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda and San Mateo counties.
The typical monthly mortgage payment that Bay Area buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,639 last month, down from $1,665 the previous month, and down from $1,695 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 37.8 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 52.2 percent below the current cycle's peak in July 2007.
Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is off its recent peak but remains high by historical standards, with mortgage default notices flattening or trending lower in some areas, but edging higher in others. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and non-owner occupied buying is above-average in some markets, MDA DataQuick reported.
Sales Volume Median Price
All homes Nov-08 Nov-09 %Chng Nov-08 Nov-09 %Chng
Alameda 1,182 1,323 11.90% $356,500 $363,000 1.80%
Contra Costa 1,423 1,472 3.40% $265,000 $290,000 9.40%
Marin 155 237 52.90% $625,000 $600,000 -4.00%
Napa 93 104 11.80% $406,500 $380,750 -6.30%
Santa Clara 1,120 1,649 47.20% $450,000 $494,500 9.90%
San Francisco 340 499 46.80% $648,000 $650,000 0.30%
San Mateo 398 525 31.90% $580,500 $587,550 1.20%
Solano 596 621 4.20% $234,500 $220,000 -6.20%
Sonoma 449 448 -0.20% $310,000 $325,050 4.90%
Bay Area 5,756 6,878 19.50% $350,000 $387,000 10.60%
Source: MDA DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)