Pleasant Hill real estate market is changing!

First of all, I am excited to be contributing my thoughts and perspectives about real estate to the new Pleasant Hill Patch site!  I have been a Realtor for over 33 years and a Pleasant Hill resident for almost as long. I hope to be able to contribute some valuable content on both real estate and the Pleasant Hill community!

So what to write my first blog about?  Well, with the ever dynamic real estate
market, it is not difficult to find “content”.  Real estate news seems to be everywhere, and it also seems to frequently offer a mixed message of where the markets are headed!  What I will attempt to do is to sift through the news and apply some local perspective and context.  After all, what houses are selling for in Des Moines is not nearly as relevant as what they are selling for in your
neighborhood!

As a Realtor, I get numerous real estate news feeds and updates, along with information and statistics from our local Realtor associations.  What I have noticed recently a great disparity between what I am reading from those news sources and what I am experiencing “in the field” on a day to day basis.  The other day I saw the headline on a news item: “Home prices hit new lows in 9 of 20 markets” (Inman News 4/24/2012; S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index).  This
is  certainly “out of synch” with my experience of the current local market.  Let me share my recent perspective (along with those of colleagues that I talk with) on the Pleasant Hill real estate scene.

I will start with experiential/anecdotal reports, and then share some statistics.  It seems like every decent house is now getting multiple offers.  Listing agents have gone back to scheduling a time, 5-7 days after hitting the market, for review of offers.  A nice little home in Martinez that I recently submitted an offer for first-time buyers had 17 offers.  And while it will take some time for current home sales to close so that we can track values, I feel very clearly that prices have “stabilized” and that in a month or two we will confirm that prices are moving in an upward direction.  Here are some numbers for Pleasant Hill from the Contra Costa Association of Realtors (through end of March…  April stats coming soon!):

Pleasant Hill (Detached Homes and Condo/Townhomes)

Pending Sales year-to-date (Mar ’11 - Mar ’12)                  Up 58%

Closed Sales year-to-date (Mar ’11 - Mar ’12)                    Up 3.6%

Available inventory end of Mar ‘12 vs. Mar ‘11                    Down 49%

Average sales price (Mar ’11 vs. Mar ’12)                           Up 7%

Percent of sales at “over asking” price (Y-T-D 2012)            33%

All of the above point to a much stronger market… but I know that the looming question is “will it continue?”  I believe that there are strong signs that it will.  Consider the following:

1) According to Foreclosure Radar foreclosure sales are down 53% from March ’11 to March ’12.

2) Fannie Mae’s national survey indicates 33% of respondents expect prices to increase over the next 12 months; that is the highest percentage in a year.

3) The National Association of Realtors reports that housing affordability has reached its highest point since they began tracking this indicator in 1970.

4) Interest rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages emain at near record lows - currently around 3.875%

There is a dramatically different dynamic in the market right now.  If you would like to discuss how your home or real estate needs may be affected the changing market please feel free to give me a call.  A no cost consultation could provide the information that you need to take advantage of current market conditions.  I can be reached at 925-285-0630; by email at mark@markwlms.com, or visit my website at www.homesourcerealestate.com.  Thanks! Mark Williams