Our housing market is a local market. If you read the newspapers, it sounds like home prices are tumbling all over the country. This isn't accurate, because what's happening in different places reflects the local market. Speculators in Las Vegas bought up lots of condos and houses, expecting a boom in population - when that boom didn't arrive, there were lots of vacant properties that were hard to rent and even harder to sell. In Florida, especially Miami, too many condos were built and speculators bought them – intending the flip them for quick profits. Miami housing prices are now dropping. Sacramento and the Central Valley are seeing much lower prices too. We don't live in Vegas or Miami or Sacramento.
In Marin, home prices are zooming upwards as people compete for scarce housing. In fact, the average home price in Marin is now over $1 million. Marin is considered a desirable location by people with a lot of money, and that has kept home prices rising.
In Oakland, the situation is far more complex. While we are a single city, we are divided into dozens of different neighborhoods.
Some areas are seeing severe price declines as dozens of foreclosed homes hit the market. When there are too many houses available for sale, and not enough people buying them, prices tend to drop. People who purchase entry level homes are having a harder time getting loans, so that is affecting the demand for these lower-end homes.
Even in desirable areas like Maxwell Park and Redwood Heights, home prices have declined somewhat, so you have the opportunity to find a bargain.
In generally, the high end houses are selling quite well at stabilized prices. Some neighborhoods are still seeing price appreciation, and there are even multiple offers on some houses (which raises the price they sell for).
Prices in Berkeley and Alameda don't seem to be changing much. Yet home prices are plummeting in Antioch and Pittsburgh, a combination of many foreclosures hitting the market, a tighter lending environment, and the high cost of gasoline.
As you can see, housing is a local market. The news is often misleading.
