Gene Ward

Average Selling Price for Detached Single Family Homes

Average selling price, since 1983, for detached single family homes for the towns of Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, San Ramon and Walnut Creek, California, with corresponding inserted interest rate chart.

I've charted and graphed price changes for the last 25 years in these areas. It's interesting to note that if you were to project a line at an angle aligning the most stable years you'll see we're still about 25% higher now than we should be, but that's just my opinion.

Take a look at the interest rate chart which goes back to 1963. Current interest rates are exactly the same as they were in 1963. This is a historic low for interest rates but hang onto your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Also note how high the interest rates were in the late 70's, early 80's. If you're old enough to remember, and I am, that's the last time the government tried to control the free market economy (Jimmy Carter years).

National Average Mortgage Contract Interest Rates

To put the current mortgage interest rates into perspective see the mortgage interest rate chart below. These rates start in 1963 and go through 2008. This chart confirms that we are experiencing historically low mortgage interest rates.

I ran into one of my past clients at the Alamo hardware store this weekend. He wanted to know how the housing market was doing in Alamo as he was thinking of selling his San Ramon home and buying a home in Alamo. I represented him when he purchased the San Ramon home back in 2003. He would like to move to Alamo if he can find a home and purchase it at a good price. His only concern was his San Ramon home might not get top dollar.

What he didn't understand is if his current home sells for less than he thinks it's worth, any home he finds for sale in Alamo will also be selling for less than that seller thinks it's worth. My suggesting, let's perform an Alamo home search and see what's out there that meets his needs. If we can find homes in Alamo that work we could then list his San Ramon home. The end result would be he gets a home in the town he really wants to live in, Alamo.

Spent some time driving around Alamo, CA looking at homes that just came on the market. Whenever I do an Alamo home search I always find something interesting. A little research provided some information about the current market conditions in the town of Alamo California.

In a community of around 13,000 people there are 145 homes for sale. This is a lot of inventory for Alamo which usually falls between 40 and 80 listings. Is the market turning? I don't see it here in Alamo. There were a lot of short sales listings. The current market value of active listing;

high price = $8,498,000

low price = $545,950

average price = $2,065,726

median price = $1,649,000

There are 16 listings that are currently pending.

Since July 1st of this year 17 listings have sold.

With a low number of 17 homes sold since July 1st of this year it does not look like the market has picked up at all. In fact it looks like it's getting worse. Just 17 closed escrows in 2 1/2 months. At this rate and with the slow winter season upon us it will take many more months to reduce the unsold inventory of 145 homes. Maybe when the numerous short sales turn to REOs and the prices drop we'll see more sold activity.

This brings me to the big question, how did we get here? There are a lot of opinions on this subject and all have a bit of truth to them. Here's my two cents.

• Our elected officicals are no longer held responsible for their actions, missed budget deadlines, special interest monies, etc..
• Since when did the USA start handing out money to the same banks that caused the problem?
• When did the taxpayer become financially responsible for the actions of lenders and bankers?
• Are your taxes to high, to low? Is 50% of your income paid to the government OK?
• Do you believe the taxpayers should be responsible for the health and welfare of those entering this country illegially?

It's time to take a look at where we are headed as a country. We need to be well informed of each presidential candidates positions and philosophy. Do some research on each candidate. How did they vote on bills before them while in the senate. Did they vote at all or abstain. By researching what they've voted for or against in the past you'll get a pretty good idea of what they'll do in the future.

Check out this blank obama book video, http://www.obamaresearch.com/ the author is looking for his credentials to be our next president.

The USA is in trouble if all it has to offer are the choices the democrats and republicans are offering. Yes there are other parties but most voters don't hear much about them from the news media. No wonder the founding fathers were against the party system.

My history of home price chart has been updated to reflect the latest values for 2007. This chart displays average home price values for Blackhawk, Alamo, Danville, Walnut Creek and San Ramon from 1983 through 2007. Included in the chart are the average mortgage contract interest rate for the corresponding years.

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/30262/Updated-History-of-Home