Hittin’ the Links

Bringing some love to our fellow Bay Area bloggers. Always good to check in and see what’s going on in different neighborhoods and bring our own readers a wider variety of information.

The Front Steps did a post today “Stats & Numbers: Single Family Homes 8/07 vs. 8/08″ for San Francisco, by district. I was a bit disappointed that there was not commentary or opinion, but there really aren’t too many surprises. The # of units available is up 5.4%, while the # of units sold is down 8.1%. The median price, while down 7.4%, is certainly stronger than in many parts of the Bay Area which have posted double digit losses in this category. The big number comes at Average Days On Market, which last year was 30 and this year comes in at 45, a 50% increase. But adding only 15 days really isn’t that bad. For the full lowdown by district, you can check it out here.

If you would like some concrete info on specific homes that sold, on a weekly basis, you only have to go to San Francisco Schtuff, which gives you the full rundown, with the caveat that you have to agree to terms and ask nicely, thanks to rules and regs of the NAR. But its worth the trouble, and I recommend you support them in their effort to bring you important real estate data.

San Mateo Homesellers in Trouble posted the August Update on troubled homes in San Mateo County. She reports on each city individually, how many homes are in trouble or anticipated. Right now, she is seeing increases in some of the more stable towns like Burlingame, although the numbers are small. Big hitters like East Palo Alto actually have a decrease in distressed properties, which is a good thing. Check out what’s happening in your city.

Burbed reported on the Bay Area rental market, for those of you wanting to calculate if it makes sense to rent or buy. Looks like every market they report on has seen an increase in rental prices over last year, with five of the markets showing double digit increases. What’s it like in your city?

Recent Sweet Digs Posts:

• Berkeley’s Little Secret: New Housing Construction Downtown
•  Emerald Hills: Zero to Sixty
•  On a Mission, In the Mission
•  The Art of Negotiation