300K in the Bay

The overwhelming reality of the buyers market was made crystal clear last week when MDA DataQuick reported the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos combined in the nine-county Bay Area fell to $300,000 last month. That was down 9.1 percent from $330,000 in December and down a record 45.5 percent from $550,000 in January 2008.

Bottom line: foreclosed homes owned by banks and the like are being pawned off in an obvious effort to recoup losses before they get any worse. Hit hardest are residential areas such as Contra Costa county, with a staggering 64.4 percent downfall. Areas like Marin however, have been hit the least, losing only an estimated 26.2 percent in housing values. A resilient class of millionaires and gentrified homeowners in a palatial environment can be attributed no doubt.

The report also mentioned that average (very highly averaged in my opinion) mortgage payments in the bay were around 1300 a month. The quantity of recently foreclosed homes re-purchased and re-sold is cause for such low payments. The report did not mention what averaged rents were but I can imagine a bit higher as owners attempt to re-coup equity losses.