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Home Sales and Prices Rising In Marin and Bay Area
In Marin, as well as the rest of the Bay Area, home sales and prices spiked last month. 201 homes were sold in Marin, with a median price of $750k. Both were higher slightly than September's numbers, according to an MDA DataQuick report issued Thursday. September saw 160 homes sell in Marin, at a median price of $734.5k. Last year in October, there were 140 sales at a median of $850k. As for condos, there were 59 sold in Marin in October at a median of $350k, compared with a median sales price of $315k for Marin condos in October 2008. In September, 57 condos sold at a $395k median price.
Analysts say that the market for lower end homes ($500k or lower in Marin) is doing just fine, it's the sales of higher end homes that are still stagnant. As long as the unemployment rate stays high, and homeowners are unsure of their job security, they will be reluctant to move up into more expensive homes. October is typically a slow month for home sales, so the improved numbers this year are an encouraging sign. The federal government recently extended and expanded its stimulus program to boost home sales.
Marin home sales in October represent a 20 percent jump when compared with September and with last October. Another potential cause is the large number of distressed sales earlier in the year, as short sales and foreclosed properties generally take at least twice as long to close. The increased numbers for October, therefore, were partially boosted by sales from mid to late summer. Foreclosure sales in October represented 31 percent of all sales in the Bay Area. The ratio was about the same as in September but down from a 44 percent share last October. In Marin, foreclosure sales accounted for just under 15 percent, down from 16 percent in September and 18 percent last October.
There were 7,932 homes sold in the Bay Area in October, a slight increase over September, and a 4 percent increase over the same month a year ago. The median selling price for Bay Area homes was $390k, a 6 percent increase over September's median of $365k and a 4 percent increase over last October's median of $375k. There has been a recent spike, too, since the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit was extended; providing an optimistic outlook for the housing market moving forward. And in addition to extending the first time homebuyers tax credit, a $6,500 tax credit has been implemented for existing homeowners looking to move up, provided the new home does not supass $800,000 in price.
Marin Real Estate Blog
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