March 24, 2008

SF and Daly City: Housing Sales Finally Up…Because Prices are Down?

That’s right, with spring comes bunnies and flowers and …maybe a rebirth of the housing market. Such sentiment could be a little on the optimistic side, but still, according to the Chronicle, “Sales of existing homes increased unexpectedly in February after six months of decline.”    Not to end the downpour of downturn news, the article also notes that

• Even with the gain sales were still 23.8 percent below where they were a year ago
• By region of the country, sales surged by 11.3 percent in the Northeast and were up 2.5 percent in the Midwest and 2.1 percent in the South. The only region of the country to see a sales decline was the West, where sales dropped by 1.1 percent (so in other words, our area of the country did not enjoy a comeback).

 Perhaps most didactic, for the purposes of buying and selling, is that nationwide,

Prices continued to slide. The median sales price for single-family homes and condominiums dropped to $195,900, a fall of 8.2 percent from a year ago, the biggest slide in the current housing slump. The median price for just single-family homes was down 8.7 percent from a year ago, the biggest decline in four decades.

We all know by now that the Bay Area is different than the rest of the nation: some parts, like Marin and SF, continue to stay strong; other parts, like Oakland, Richmond, and Daly City, show clear weakness. But certainly, the logic that a less expensive house will appeal to more buyers works in any market. Thus, even in stable markets like SF, when a home won’t sell, a reduced price might be the little bit of magic needed to make that sale happen. With this in mind, here are some reduced sales in SF and Daly City. I’ve also listed a few homes due for reduction, as they’ve lingered on over 45 days.

SF Reductions

1336 Leavenworth: 1/1 TIC reduced to $598,000.

1701 Jackson St., #702: 1/1 condo reduced to $699,000.

933 Dwight St.: 3/1 single-family home reduced to $670,000.

Should see reduction in SF

180 Huntington Dr.: a Lakeshore 3/2 single-family lingering over 70 days; sellers may need to rethink asking $959,000.

1496 29th Ave.: A 5/4 single-family smack in the middle of the Sunset. After 68 days, “luxury home” or not, the price might need to come down a smidge from $1,350,000.

Daly City reductions

345 Bellevue: 3/1 single-family with rental income potential. Short sale, reduced to $450, 000

466 Florence: 4/2 single-family reduced to $599,000.

75 Vendome: 5/3 single-family (less than $400 per sq. ft), reduced to $799,999.

Should see reduction in Daly City

1001 Southgate Ave.: 3/2 single-family on market for 47 days at $699,000 (over $600 per sq. foot).

163 Werner: this 4/3 single-family has been flipped 4 times in two years, and now after 147 days on the market, is due to come down from the optimistic $725K asking price.

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