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January Gets Off To A Good Start…How Did Your Community Fare?

February 5th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

2009-vs-2009-solano-county-monthly-sales-january1January Home Sales Much Stronger Than A Year Ago Throughout Solano County

January got off to a much better start this year than in 2008, at least if you judge it by comparing the number of homes sales. Whereas 2008 got off to a rather tame start amid softening prices and looming economic worries, 2009 took off right where 2008 ended, with much more robust sales activity, particularly in the county’s most affordable cities.

Last January, for example, there were 164 home sales countywide. This January, there were 153 closed sales in Vallejo alone — further evidence that enough home buyers sense that we’re nearing if not at the bottom of the market. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 3 Comments »

The Skinny On Every January Vallejo Home Sale

February 5th, 2009 categories: Buying, Market Update, Selling, Vallejo

I just completed our January Vallejo home sales report and its available for download by clicking on the graphic. It lists every Vallejo home that closed escrvallejo-home-sales-jan-2009-croppedow last month and includes bedrooms, baths, square footage, original list price, final list price, closing price and even a comparison showing the net difference between the seller’s starting price and the ultimate selling price.

The least  expensive home in Vallejo last month sold for $23,750 on N. Camino Alto. The most expensive was $495,000 on Landmark Dr. in Hiddenbrooke (one of only two Vallejo homes to sell above $400,000). Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

January ‘09 Benicia Home Sales Report ‘Hot Off The Presses’

February 5th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Market Update, Selling

benicia-home-sales-jan-2009I Just finished a report that shows every Benicia home that closed escrow in January.  Click on the graphic to download the report, which includes address, bedrooms, baths, square footage, sales price, and even the net change from the original list price to the eventual selling price.

There were 13 home sales in Benicia last month — the lowest $114,900 and the highest $675,000. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Inventory Down Everywhere In Solano Except Benicia

January 26th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

Weekly Housing Inventory Report

Benicia was the only city in our Solano County market area which saw an increase in housing inventory this past week, putting it almost right back where it was when the year began.

With a net gain of six homes, Benicia’s inventory stands at 105 (70 single family homes and 35 condominiums/townhomes) — a 6.1% increase over last week.

Vacaville saw the biggest decrease with a 5.7% drop (24 homes) from a week ago, followed by Suisun City (-5.2%), Fairfield-Green Valley (-3.0%) and Vallejo (-2.5%).

That’s the second week in a row that all four communities saw a reduction in their housing supply. On the surface, that might seem to be an indication that perhaps the market is reaching its bottom.

However, before you get too excited with the drop in inventory in those cities, keep in mind that Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac have temporarily suspended all foreclosures (see this story) and all four cities have been a hotbed for foreclosure activity.

The foreclosure ban ends Jan. 31, which means that all those homes which normally would have been repossessed between late November and now will likely hit the market in February and March. If that’s true, the decline in the housing supply in Fairfield, Suisun, Vacaville and Vallejo could be short-lived.

To see the full detailed report, click on the graphic or HERE. And be sure to check back weekly; I normally update this custom report every Monday or Tuesday.

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Final ‘08 Solano Housing Stats: All But One City Had Far More Sales, However…

January 12th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Market Update, Selling, Vallejo

It should come as no surprise that prices in Solano County were down in 2008. Nor that the number of sales county-wide increased (lower prices = greater affordability).

What was surprising though is that one Solano County city, Benicia, actually saw a decrease in both prices and sales volume — which was in marked contrast to its other Solano County neighbors. But when you look inside the numbers and realize what actually caused the spike in activity throughout the rest of Solano, you’ll see that Benicia should actually be quite pleased with its standing in the county.

I just ran the final 2008 residential sales statistics (click here or on the graphic below to see my complete report) and the stats show that countywide, prices in 2008 were down 36% from 2007 ($417,000 median sales price in ‘07 and $265,000 in ‘08). Sales activity, however, skyrocketed, with almost twice as many sales last year (4,899) than the year before (2,745) — a 178% increase.

In fact, Vallejo (1,473) and Fairfield/Green Valley (1,407) together combined for more sales in 2008 (2,880) than the entire county had in 2007. Those two cities saw their sales climb 227% and 219% respectively.

But the overall leader in terms of percentage, was Suisun City, with 239% more sales in 2008 than the year before. Of course, its median price, which dropped from $400,000 in ‘07 to $232,000 in ‘08, certainly played a huge part in attracting more buyers. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

How Did Your Community Fare In December?

January 8th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Vallejo

Solano County Home Sales Data For December

I just downloaded the data and the numbers are in for Solano County homes sales in December. There were a total of 556 sales county-wide, led in descending order by Vallejo (195), Fairfield/Green Valley (166), Vacaville (87), Suisun City (48) and Benicia (24).

The lowest selling price in the county was in Vallejo ($27,000) and the highest was in Vacaville (an even $1 million). The quickest sales were in Suisun City (average of 82 days on the market) and the slowest were in Vallejo (117 days). However, Vallejo had the most pending sales for the month (249), which was almost half of the entire county’s total (650).

Benicia, as usual, had the highest median sales price in the county, at $383,500 — more than $100,000 higher than the city with the next highest median price (Vacaville at $270,000. Vallejo had the lowest, with a median sales price of $160,000. The county-wide median was  $206,375 in December.

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Want To Stay Current On How Many Homes Are On The Market In Most of Solano County?

January 7th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Vallejo

A new year means new additions and new traditions. So starting today, I’ll be tracking the number of homes on the market in the Solano County communities we serve on a weekly basis. Keeping track of the inventory every week is something I usually do for Benicia, but now I’m going to start doing it for Vallejo, Fairfield-Green Valley, Suisun and Vacaville, too. And I plan to post the numbers on this blog every week.

Today, the list is only one line long. But if you subscribe to this Blog or keep checking back regularly, as the weeks progress, you’ll see an ever-evolving incredibly useful window into what’s really happening in the market.

As the year begins, here is the housing inventory for Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

How Many Foreclosures Does Your City Have?

October 23rd, 2008 categories: Buying, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Market Update, Selling

A little over a month ago, I posted a chart illustrating how many distressed properties are on the market in the various communities within our market area. About six weeks have passed since I downloaded the data for that report, so I figured it was probably time to update the data and see if there have been any changes.

Well, if you’re a buyer, the news is good. If you’re a seller, it’s not so good – at least if you look at the overall numbers across all 19 cities in our market area. Before I get into the current data, let’s briefly recap the figures from my last report, which was based on MLS data as of Sept. 11. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Why Some Sellers Are Throwing Away More Than $300/Day In This Market & How To Avoid Making Their Same Mistakes

September 5th, 2008 categories: Market Update, Selling

It usually goes something like this: A real estate meets with a seller and explains that in order to sell in a market like we’re in right now, they’ll need to be realistic. And the seller says “oh, don’t worry about that…we know what’s been happening out there. We’ve read the paper and know that we need to be priced competitively. We don’t want to be one of those who has their home on the market for four or five months.”

But then a strange thing happens. They look at the comps and see that the number they’d resigned themselves to pricing their home at before the agent arrived is actually still $50,000-$100,000 above the home’s current value.

Suddenly, their mood changes. “Well, we know our home is worth more than that. Plus, we have RV parking. And some of those ‘other’ sales were bank-owned. Besides, we just painted the entire interior four years ago. And our roof is only six years old.” Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »