San Francisco Bay Area Foreclosure Statistics

East Bay Area - South Bay Area

REOs (bank owned properties) and properties going into pre-foreclosure (NODs) continue to rise across the country, California and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Banks and local real estate agents are reporting multiple offers on bank owned properties throughout the Bay Area. 

In the East Bay, Contra Costa County continues to lead in the number of properties entering foreclosure and being returned to the bank.

In Contra Costa County, the communities of Antioch, Pittsburgh, Oakley, and Brentwood continue to see increasing transaction activity as buyers looking for good deals and investors buy up REOs.

Alameda and Santa Clara Counties show a dip in foreclosures for June.

In San Francisco Count, the foreclosure figures are the lowest in the Bay area - almost a tenth of other Bay Area counties.

This is the time to buy a Bay Area home or to invest in East bay real estate. Convergent downward forces on home prices are most likely at their maximum right now. 

We may see further price erosion in some areas, but increases in interest rates will likely negate any savings realized by a further drop in price.

Additionally, buyer's negotiating power is peaking. Any improvement in any area will begin to erode the buyer's side of the negotiating table.

If you have an interest in foreclosures or bank owned properties in the East Bay communities of Alamo, Antioch, Brentwood, Concord, Danville, Dublin, San Ramon, Pleasanton, or Walnut Creek, CA - contact Craig (925) 984-4910.

Foreclosure Activity continues in Contra Costa County

Here is the list of Notice of Default filed in Contra Costa County as of August 4th.

Here is the list of Bank Owned Properties in Contra Costa County as of August 4th.

Higher than normal foreclosure activity is expected to continue for the next12 to 18 months in Contra Costa County. The foreclosure activity will be one market force continuing to put downward pressure on housing prices in the area. Keep in mind that the majority of homes going into foreclosure are at the bottom half of the market.

High-end homes are not suffering the downward price pressure from foreclosures. It is more the sluggish economy and uncertainty of buyers that is slowing sales in this price point.

The best deals for buyers and investors will most likely be realized over the next 6 months - unless something unexpected enters the mix.

If you are interested in foreclosures or bank owned properties contact Craig (925) 984-4910. He is our team specialist in this area.

For FREE In-Depth Real Estate market Reports for most Bay Area Communities go here.

If the activity on our site is any kind of indicator of today's buyer mindset, then interest in REOs (bank owned properties) is one of the top areas of interest for today’s home buyer. Our inbound leads with an interest in bank owned properties and foreclosures has increased about 30% over the last month.

In parts of Contra Costa County, home values have dropped more than 50%. Rents are continuing to rise. This is the perfect scenario for investors looking for real estate opportunities that can create cash flow or at least get near positive cash flow.

The situation in eastern Contra Costa County (Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood) is producing some of the best price values, but investors are showing some concern about those depressed home values bouncing back. The thing to remember is that the same housing affordability dynamics still exist in the East Bay and Contra Costa County.

East Bay communities like Antioch, Brentwood and Pittsburg still offer some of the most affordable real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. With BART considering an extension into Antioch in the next few years, it is going to make these East Bay communities even more attractive to home buyers looking for affordable housing.

Large investor groups are beginning to look at these communities. It would not surprise me to see the lion’s share of foreclosures in these areas gobbled up by investors in the next 6 months.

As I noted in my post – Now is the Time to Buy that Retirement Home – this is a wonderful window of opportunity for East Bay baby boomers.

The interest in foreclosures and bank owned properties is not confined to eastern Contra Costa County. On Friday, we received an inquiry from an investor looking for a vacation home or second home in the Bay Area in the $3million range. There are foreclosures and REOs in all price ranges.

High-end communities like Blackhawk, Danville and Lafayette have their share of real estate deals to offer this summer. Communities like San Ramon and Pleasanton, CA continue to see value-priced homes entering the market, which is a real benefit for employees of companies moving into Bishop Ranch like PG (links to past posts).

We think that the second half of 2008 may be the best second-half real estate year the TriValley has seen is quite a while.

Dr. Bajaj, a financial economist is very optomistic on the possibility of real estate recovering from the subprime mess in the near future. A couple of good quarters with the banks not taking any more drastic write-downs, some relaxation of over-reactive lending guidelines – and we could see foreign investment in the U.S. economy return in a big way.

If you have an interest in foreclosures or bank owned properties, talk to our REO specialist - Craig - (925) 895-2694 

The Dublin, CA real estate market continues to heat up more than the surrounding communities. Dublin has a lot of condo inventory and new home inventory that developers and builders are motivated to discount. Is this continued pressure on home values along with the rising foreclosure rate affecting the resale market? It must be one of major factors in the rising activity in the Dublin market.

The blue line indicates Active Listings and the green line Pending Sales according to the local MLS. Dublin CA is the only community in the TriValley area where we see this continued trend of the gap closing. The closer the lines get, the more the local market moves toward a buyer's market. You can see some of the other MLS trends here.

San Ramon, CA is the only other market where we see continued significant improvement in this gap. The rise in active real estate listings in surrounding communities continues to out pace the rise in pending sales.

RealtyTrac is showing 151 properties in Pre-Foreclosure, 44 homes at Auction and 92 real estate owned properties (bank owned).

It's a great time to buy Dublin CA real estate. There are many great deals on the market. If you are interested in  new home construction contact Tracey (925) 984-1890. She has over 8 years of new home sales experience working for Standard Pacific Homes as a sales manager. She knows how to get you the best bang for your buck in new home sales. 

If you are interested in foreclosures, bank owned, or distressed properties contact Craig (925) 984-4910, our specialist in that area. 

RealtyTrac today registers 358 properties in Pre-Foreclosure, 104 properties in Auction and 188 properties as Bank Owned (REO) in San Ramon zip code 94582.

In San Ramon zip code 94583 we find 392 properties in Pre-Foreclosure, 108 in Auction and 204 as Bank Owned Properties.

The big news on Friday from the National Association of Realtors was the inventory of unsold homes on the market climbed by 10.5% in April. The NAR also reposted an 8% drop in the medium home price and a 1% drop in sales.

Today, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that home sales are rising in some communities as lenders slash prices to move the rising inventory of bank owned properties on the market. The WSJ shows the medium price of a Contra Costa County home down 34% from a year ago and sales up 1.5% from April last year.

The WSJ is also reporting that almost one in five, or 18%, Realtors surveyed by the National Association of Realtors last year said they sold homes to international clients between April 2006 and April 2007.

For many foreign buyers, property in the U.S. is cheap. Foreign buyers also seem more optimistic about the long-term health of the U.S. market, says David Michonski, a certified international property specialist and chief executive of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York. "The foreign buyer has an unbridled confidence in the U.S. market that is lacking in the domestic purchaser today," he notes. "They view this as the bargain of a lifetime and are terribly excited about it."

We’ve been singing this tune for months now. The deals of a lifetime are out there right now for savvy buyers and investors.

If you are interested in foreclosures or bank owned properties, contact Craig (925) 984–4910. He heads up our efforts with foreclosures and distressed properties.

Investors should contact Paul (925) 963–4246. Being from The Netherlands, Paul offers foreing investors a great perspective on the value of investing in Bay Area real estate.