Some clarification on the median price drop and the value of your home:
Every Bay Area county experienced double-digit declines in the median price. The annual drops for existing homes ranged from 11.8 percent in San Francisco to 48.4 percent in Contra Costa County.
The median marks the point at which half the homes sold for more, half for less. It reflects the composition of homes sold rather than an across-the-board change in all home values.
“It would be wrong to say that Bay Area home values are half of what they were a year and a half ago,” John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president, said in a statement. “Maybe half of the decline in median is a market mix issue and the rest a drop in value.”
And like we’ve said before, It’s a great time to be a buyer:
Chanthapak [person interviewed in article] bought another Richmond property with two homes on one lot for $90,000. He spent $30,000 on rehab, and now expects that property will have positive cash flow of $1,400 a month. He said renting out one of the homes will cover his mortgage, taxes and insurance, so rent from the other will be all profit.
…and the fine print:
Conversely, areas with few foreclosures, such as San Francisco, also had far fewer sales. The 180 existing homes sold in the city was down about 20 percent from last year; only 12.4 percent of those homes were foreclosures. Marin and San Mateo counties also saw sales volume decline and had relatively low foreclosure activity.
We’re happy to help with your real estate endeavors, but please don’t assume everything on the market is in, or close to, foreclosure.