Pockets Of CA Real Estate Are Showing Signs Of Recovery

Thanks to some very valuable Market Data provided by JMO Reader Tim Heffernan, I've had an opportunity to review real estate statistical trends for California and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Here's a quick summary:

• Sonoma County: Unit sales are up by more than 100% since 1/08, Homes are selling at 96.5% of list price with an average days on market of 107.
• Alameda County: Unit sales are up by more than 135% since 1/08, Homes are selling at 97.6% of list price with an average days on market of 59. The <$500K homes represent 80% of sales which is a distinct difference from the 20% they represented as recently as 2006.
  
• Contra Costa County: Unit sales are up by nearly 24% since 1/08, Pending sales are up 29%, Days of inventory has dropped to 202, from 272 a year ago.
• San Diego County: Unit sales are up 48% since 1/08, Homes are selling at 95.65 of list price with an average days on market of 63. Although bank -owned properties continue to represent the majority of sales in this county the number are still impressive.

REO investors should take note that the combination the stimulus package, foreclosure moratoriums and recent success in selling at near-retail prices is causing supplies of REO properties to dwindle and will inevitably cause prices to rise (We're already seeing that in several areas). We are recommending that our clients revisit their acquisition strategies and implement strategies that allow them to sell at the retail level for greater profit. ProEquity Management has aligned themselves with several real estate brokerages that are showing significant success in selling properties to end-users at near-retail prices within 60-90 days.