Bay Area Community Banks Reporting Losses

Bank of Alameda, says it will restate its 2008 financial statements after the bank undertook a fresh scrutiny of its loan portfolio and impaired assets. NorCal Community expects to report a loss for all of 2008. San Ramon-based Tri-Valley Bank lost money during its first quarter.

The economy and fallen real estate market continue to hammer banking's bottom line. The housing problem (foreclosures, falling home prices, job losses, new construction loss) continues to have a significant impact on the East Bay economy. Though community banks are reporting losses, most are not suffering the way the big banks are due to less exposure in the subprime loan market.

Housing industry experts claim that banks are withholding the release of foreclosed homes for several months now. Banks want to create an artificial shortage of distressed properties according to some experts. An artificial real estate shortage will occur when homebuyers find that they must compete for a limited supply of foreclosed homes.

Wells Fargo senior economist and vice president Scott Anderson explained that withholding a number of foreclosure properties for sale from the real estate market is a deliberate effort on the part of lenders to abate the drastic decline in home prices. Results from a study of the foreclosures market showed that only one third of repo homes are being marketed for sale.

This being the case, the current housing inventory and home price levels might mean the best investment opportunities are available now.

Our FREE In-Depth Real Estate Market Reports updated weekly, break data down by zip code and price point. 

Contact Craig for more info on local real estate trends – 925-984-4910