Danville California is one of those real estate markets that is weathering the storm of change better than most.

Danville real estate is situated more toward the upper end of the market for the East Bay and the 680 Corridor. It is the upper end of the market that is helping to maintain the median home price in the East Bay.

Single family homes priced below $800K are facing considerable downward pricing pressures as a result of the housing market slowdown and the subprime lending correction. Danville, with it’s average list price exceeding $1.3 million is one of the most stable markets in the Bay Area.

But, Danville is not escaping unblemished. Recent data from Yahoo Foreclosures shows zip code 94526 with 50 foreclosures and zip code 94506 with 38 (top images). The majority of these Danville properties have, at this time only received a Notice of Default. It is worth noting that even in the best of times, a fair number of NODs are filed.

The following data was gathered from RealtyTrac 

Checking the Market Details Report (Free & updated weekly), we see a couple of interesting things in Danville. The image below reflects how the median list price in zip code 94526 is flat while the median list price in zip code 94506 (Blackhawk) is trending up. 

Here we see the data broken down into quartiles based upon the price point. Notice that in 94526 as the price increases the Average Days on Market also increases, but in 94506 it is almost the opposite.

The biggest pressure on pricing in Danville, California appears to be coming from seller motivation in this slow market. Sellers that are relocating or needing to “get on with it” for whatever reason are doing what motivated sellers always do – determine fair market price and then price your home 5% to 10% below it to attract the most buyers. The neighbors may not like it because it adds to the downward price pressure, but hey – C’est la Vie!

Here’s our take on the Real Estate Market in Walnut Creek, CA as we begin the new year.

Walnut Creek real estate and home sales are fairly flat which is what normally occurs this time of the year. In looking at the MLS trends for Walnut Creek, we see active listings sharply decreasing while pending sales and closed sales show slight downward trends – again, seasonally normal.

In looking through this weeks Market Details Report for Walnut Creek, we see that it continues to reflect the general trend impacting the greater East Bay. Homes in the lower half of the market continue to experience downward pressure while the upper half of the market continues to add stability to the median home price. The upper quartile in the market continues to climb in value (homes priced above $1.3 Million)

The average days on market (DOM) for Walnut Creek shows an interesting trend. For the overall community, the lower priced 25% and the upper 25% are showing the greatest average DOM. The lower quartile is actually the slowest market right now in Walnut Creek at about 115–138 average days on market.

These general Walnut Creek trends show significant variations for each of the four zip codes covered. Getting a copy of the Walnut Creek Market Details report is recommended for home sellers.

The two factors having the most impact on the Walnut Creek real estate market are PRICE and FINANCING. There are buyers looking for homes, but they are value conscious buyers. Buyers with financing in place have the upper hand in negotiating in this market.

Feedback from fellow Realtors and Mortgage Brokers is pretty consistent. It’s a slow market that is continued to remain so thorugh, at least, through the first half of the year. The biggest change expected this year is a significant reduction in the number of Realtors as the Walnut Creek real estate market is expected to see a sharp decline in the the number of closed escrows in 2008.

Related Posts:

• East Bay 2008 Forecast
• Danville 2008 Forecast
• 2008 is a Remodel Year

As golfers, we are truly fortunate to live in an area where the weather, beautiful scenery and abundant golf courses make it easy to get out and play year round.  In the East Bay there are over 20 public golf courses within a short distance and numerous private courses as well.  Whether you're looking for a fairly flat course like San Ramon Golf Club, a hilly course like Lake Chabot in Oakland or a short par 63 course like Dublin Ranch, there is something for any golfer's desire.  One of our favorite websites for booking tee times is www.golfnow.com which provides excellent discounted fees for most of the public courses in the area.  They even have an email alert service that will deliver daily notices to you on tee times and the amount of discount offered.

If you currently live in the East Bay Area of Northern CA you are no doubt familiar with many of the courses around the area.  However, if you are one of the fortunate people looking to relocate to this area, you will be in for quite a treat when get out and test the waters (well, let's forget those water shots…I mean the greens).  If you are looking to buy a home on a golf course, there are also lots of courses, both public and private, that have homes available.  Check out the "Search All Properties on The MLS" or "Get Free Alerts of All Listings" to find the home you may be looking for.

Cheers,

Craig Harper 

Dublin prides itself on having a “cozy bedroom community” feel while being at the doorstep of metropolitan cities like San Francisco and Oakland. The prospect of a 21-story high rise would completely erase that calling card.

The majority of the city’s residents grumble at the idea, saying that if they wanted to live in a city with skyscrapers, they would have already moved to San Francisco. Supporters of Grafton Plaza, the property in East Dublin along 580 near Tassjara Road, believe that building it will spur economic growth and bring positive attention to the Dublin area.

If this project turns into reality (which won’t be for a few years anyway) it will become the tallest building in the Tri-Valley area, surpassing Oakland's 28-story Ordway Building and the 30-story Pacific Park Plaza in Emeryville as the tallest building in the East Bay.

The people of Dublin want continued growth in the area but most of them would much rather like for developers to build outward, not upward. As with most things that relate to human nature, it’s obvious that people don’t like change, whether it’s their favorite brand of coffee or in this case, a towering building among hundreds of two story homes.

- Joseph Natividad

Home sellers are falling into the money pit trap left and right and it’s costing them more than money. I’m not talking about remodeling, renovation or upgrades. I’m talking about pricing it right from the “get go” when deciding to sell.

Once again, I find myself in a situation where good advice and experience have been sacrificed to hope and fantasy. The casualty in this affair will be my reputation as it is often difficult for the seller to own their part in the whole affair.

Which affair, you may ask? Let me give you the quick outline.

• Seller wants to sell and move up
• We tell them what is happening in the local real estate market and suggest a price in line with current market conditions.
• Seller believes their house is worth more based on the past market and the fact that they want more regardless of what is happening in the local real estate market.
• 6 weeks go by as traffic and interest dwindle, the local housing market continues to move downward and the whole loan industry goes into meltdown.
• The seller, having resisted numerous suggestions to reprice the house, agrees to lower the price.
• Instead of pricing the house at the price we suggest that is in line with current conditions, the seller prices it at the price we originally suggested 2 months ago.

You see where this is going?

The seller is following the market down despite our best attempts to get them in front of the market. The seller is losing money and unfortunately and worse for us is they think it is a lack of marketing, advertising or effort on our part.

They think this in spite of the fact that there were several “very interested” parties who thought the property was appealing, but was over priced and needed more upgrading.

More could be said to outline the whole affair, but the bottom line is – the biggest challenge in real estate is getting a property priced right.

AND the biggest hurdle to this is getting the seller to look at their house not through their eyes, but through the eyes of the buyer.

We had a similar situation about nine months ago, it didn’t work out for us (except in the reputation hit mentioned in the second paragraph above). The house eventually sold after we fought the pricing battle and lost the listing war. The agent that followed in our footsteps was able to lower the price significantly (to where we were trying to get it from the “get go”). He also lowered his already discounted commission to get the listing.

Now I’m not trying to be “Woe is me” and tell you a sad real estate agent tale. On the contrary, this is part of the business and despite our best efforts, we seem to get into this situation once or twice a year as we do our best to work with people. What I’m trying to accomplish here is to create some space for the seller to entertain the thought that “market trends and conditions” have a significant impact on what a house will sell for today – not yesterday, last week, last month, or last year.

If you are selling or planning to sell your house, grill your agent on real estate trends in your area. If they can’t pull out the data to show you what’s happening in your market – move on. If they can – listen up, they are probably trying to help you get the best deal possible in a changing world. This will save you money, time and lots of aggravation.