Andrea Scott

That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind.  Certainly the financial news would have you believe that things are trending downward, and in certain areas of the country that may be true.  Fortunately, we in the East Bay are doing quite well.

The Case Shiller Index that was published a few months ago said that, on average, prices had fallen.  What wasn’t reported was that there were exceptions, and that California was a stand-out example of bucking the trend.

Inman News reported in July that a significant majority of Economists believed that the bottom of the real estate pricing trough had already hit, and a full two thirds said that US residential real estate market was at an historic turning point.

Beacon Economics forecast that California home prices will rise 23% over the next 5 years.

The data on the 680 corridor tells us that prices are up between 0 and 15%, inventory is down and the average days on market suggests a neutral or sellers’ market.

Here are the facts on your local real estate market:

This is a terrific time to sell a home as prices are up from the low but the economy is still unstable and we don’t know for sure what the future holds.  It is a great time to buy with all –time low interest rates and home prices that are still 20% or more off the highs.  Projections indicate the home prices will remain flat for a year or two but interest rates will rise, costing buyers more money for the same home.

Of course, all real estate is local.  Give me a call or go to the home page and click on ‘What’s My Home Worth’ for a pricing analysis of your particular property.  And if you didn’t see your town’s data shown, I’m happy to send that data to you.