Andy Read

The San Francisco Chronicle lately ran a small feature on one of our rental listings in the East Bay, showing all that you can get for $2.000 (or less) a month:

466 Crescent St., Unit #126 | Oakland, CA
$1,995
Beds: 3 Baths: 2

This remodeled unit has new finishes, including a kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops and a tiled floor. It's connected to a dining area. There's also new paint and carpet, dual-paned windows, an office and a private patio. It comes with garage parking for one car. The building, which has its own swimming pool, is blocks from the Grand Lake shopping district and a block from access to Interstate 580.

Leasing agent: Brad Watson, Caldecott Properties, Oakland, (510) 594-2400 x231, bwatson@caldecott.com

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F05%2F23%2FRERE1DDL05.DTL#ixzz0p3gR3tC1

Yes, there are distressed properties in Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda, just not many compared to other cities in Alameda and Contra Costa that were hit significantly harder by the market downturn.

From January 1, 2010 to May 7, 2010, there were 28 distressed sales in Lamorinda accounting for 17.7% of total sales in these cities. In addition, there were another 26 sales pending as of May 7, 2010. Of these 28 sales, 10 were short sales, and 18 were REO's. These properties were listed for an average of $669,949 ($306/square foot) and sold for an average of $642,402 ($295/square foot) - a 4.1% average discount on the list price.

During the same period of January 1, 2010 to May 7, 2010, there were 130 non-distressed sales (re-sales and new construction) that were listed for an average of $1,017,907 ($427/square foot) and sold for an average of $966,636 ($409/square foot) - a 5.0% discount on the list price.

Based on this data, distressed properties are selling for an average discount of 30.7% versus non-distressed real estate sales.

For more information about this market, or to sign up for a free-list of distressed sales in Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda or other Contra Costa or Alameda County cities, please contact Andy Read, Broker, at 510.594.2400 x 222 or aread@Caldecott.com.

Yes, there are REO's available for purchase in Berkeley. The inventory fluctuates, but as of 1/5/2010, there are ten current REO listings:

1. 1648 Curtis Street, 3/2, 1423 sq.ft, listed at $499,900

2. 1055 Amito Drive, 4/3, 4160 sq.ft, listed at $1,025,900

3. 827 Channing Way, 3/1, 1007 sq.ft, listed at $399,900

4. 1050 Creston Road, 4/3, 2953 sq.ft, listed at $950,000

5. 1239 MLK Way, 3/1, 1211 sq.ft, listed at $634,900

6. 452 Boynton Avenue, 4/2, 2301 sq.ft, listed at $859,000

7. 1687 Thousand Oaks Blvd, 3/2, 2244 sq.ft, listed at $859,900

8. 6946 Bristol Avenue, 4/4, 4120 sq.ft, listed at $999,900

9. 3227 Boise Street, 4/1, 1129 sq.ft, listed at $309,900

10. 1243 Ashby Avenue, 4/2, 1614 sq.ft, listed at $254,000

For more details about any of these listings, or to receive free automated emails with new REO listings in Berkeley, please email Andy Read at aread@caldecott.com or call him at 510.594.2400 x 222.

Yes, there are REO's in these cities, but not nearly as many as in other cities in Contra Costa and Alameda County. As of 12/2/2009, there are 10 active REO listiing in Moraga, Orinda and Lafayette, CA: RESIDENTIAL - Active ADDRESS Unit BR Bth Stat Date SqFt DOM LP $/SqFt SP $/SqFt 1727 SAINT ANDREWS DR 3 2 11/30/2009 1749 8 $499,950 $285.85 1003 Hawthorne 4 2 11/15/2009 1680 23 $404,900 $241.01 3223 Alta lane 3 2 11/26/2009 1410 153 $609,000 $431.91 651 MORAGA RD 15 3 2 11/5/2009 1394 33 $354,900 $254.59 19 CALVIN DR 4 2 11/15/2009 1642 92 $659,000 $401.34 2083 ASCOT DR 132 3 2 11/25/2009 1439 13 $299,900 $208.41 319 RHEEM BLVD 3 2 11/17/2009 1380 21 $689,900 $499.93 7 La Cintilla 5 4 11/18/2009 4106 110 $1,475,800 $359.43 73 BROOKWOOD RD UNIT 1 1 11/26/2009 673 33 $304,900 $453.05 855 MOUNTAIN VIEW DR 4 3 11/13/2009 2918 25 $839,000 $287.53 Total Listings Avg Avg Avg Avg Avg 10 51 $613,725 $342 For more information about these properties, or for a current list of REO listings, please contact Andy Read at Caldecott Properties: aread@caldecott.com, 510.594.2400 x 222.

Dear ActiveRain Member,

In response to requests from many of you for market data, I have prepared a comparison of residential real estate sales in Oakland for Q4 2006, Q4 2007 and Q4 2008.

The numbers tell a very interesting story.

OAKLAND RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES Q4 2006
Detached Homes		Condos / Townhouses
# Sales	618		# Sales	139
Dollar Volume	$390,481,793		Dollar Volume	$63,581,313
Average Sales Price	$631,848		Average Sales Price	$457,420
Median Sales Price	$550,000		Median Sales Price	$425,000
OAKLAND RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES Q4 2007
Detached Homes		Condos / Townhouses
# Sales	360		# Sales	110
Dollar Volume	$226,219,210		Dollar Volume	$47,740,090
Average Sales Price	$628,387		Average Sales Price	$434,001
Median Sales Price	$535,250		Median Sales Price	$385,000
OAKLAND RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES Q4 2008
Detached Homes		Condos / Townhouses
# Sales	747		# Sales	113
Dollar Volume	$250,213,528		Dollar Volume	$39,185,495
Average Sales Price	$334,958		Average Sales Price	$346,774
Median Sales Price	$199,900		Median Sales Price	$307,000
Source: MAXEBRDI MLS data 2006-2008; data does not include "For Sale by Owner" and new
condominium / townhouse sales not entered into MLS.

From Q4 2006 to Q4 2008 for detached homes, dollar volume was down 35.9%; average sales price was down 47.0% and median sales price was down 63.6%.

What does this really mean? Single family home values have not all depreciated 47%-64% (though property values in all Oakland zip codes are lower than they were in 2006). The majority of home sales in Q4 2008 were bank owned ("REO") and short sales in neighborhoods with lower average property values attractive to investors, builders and first time home buyers. In addition, fewer high-end properties sold as jumbo loans were virtually non existent; homebuyers didn't want to sell their existing homes in a declining market to up or down size; down payments were lost in the declining equities market; and the uncertainty that comes with and increased unemployment rate.

If we compare Q4 2006 with Q4 2008 for condos / townhouses homes, dollar volume is down 41.5%; average sales price is down 24.2% and median sales price is down 27.8%.

The two major factors for the decrease in sales and median prices were an increase in REO and short sales and a decrease in new construction sales that typically sell for more $/square foot.

Property values will not increase until we can greatly reduce the supply of properties in Oakland. The best two ways to improve this: 1.) Don't sell your home unless you have to; and 2.) Buy something!

Some help is on the way, but don't expect it to have a significant impact:

1.) $8,000 credit from the Federal Government for first-time homebuyers: http://federalhousingtaxcredit.com/

2.) $10,000 credit from the State of California for new construction: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2035237520090220

We have not seen prices so attractive with interest rates so low for a very long time. Now is the time to invest (more) in Oakland.

Please feel free to call if you'd like to find out what's happening in your neighborhood, or if you would like to learn more about attractive deals on the market.

Kind regards,

Andy Read

Caldecott Properties

5251 Broadway

Oakland, CA 94618

tel: 510.594.2400 x 222

fax: 510.594.2424

www.Caldecott.com