Market statistics can show a variety of types of information. This market report is something that I created as a result of an article in today’s newspaper. The headline was “Crisis Reaches Upscale Homes”. The gist of the story was that homes across the San Francisco Bay Area that are in the higher price ranges are also reflecting the effects of the poor economy and continued problems in the real estate market. I ran some numbers on listings in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in Fremont, Newark, Hayward, Union City, Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon and Danville to gain some insight into what the condition of the $1,000,000 plus market is today in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
As you can see, there are no $1,000,000 plus homes currently for sale in Newark or Union City. Real estate prices in those cities have always been somewhat lower that other nearby cities. Hayward, another city that is considered to have generally lower priced homes has a few high price listings. Fremont, Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon and Danville offer a variety of homes that are priced in excess of $1,000,000. In all of the cities surveyed, only one high price house is currently listed as an REO. There are eleven short sale listings. That hardly seems like an oppressive number spread across eight cities.
The newspaper article painted a worse picture than is shown by the multiple listing service. That is because the newspaper used different source data. If you look at the mls, the upper reaches of the market are not in as desperate straights as the entry level portion of the market. But that is not surprising. Many entry level buyers could barely afford their new homes. They more often live from pay check to pay check. When there is a financial problem their homes often become the newest short sale or REO listing. The upper level of the market tends to be occupied by homeowners who have deeper pockets, more resources and more staying power until they are forced to give up their houses.
Homeowners of $1,000,000 plus homes are not immune to losing their homes. They are less likely, however, than the owners of sub-$500,000 homes.
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