The Poway real estate market is heavily dependent on the larger trends of the San Diego county real estate market. The trend for this general area has been largely positive in recent months, according to an April 16, 2010 article in the Los Angeles Times. This article found that “A decline in the number of foreclosures and the comeback of higher-priced coastal areas drive the increase…The median price paid for a California home in March jumped 14.3% compared with the same month last year, reflecting a reduction in the number of foreclosure properties on the market and the comeback of higher-priced coastal areas.” The piece continued to note, written by Alejandro Lazo, continued to find that “Statewide, the median price paid for a home in March was $255,000, up from $223,000 in March 2009. It was the fifth consecutive year-over-year increase after 27 months of declines.”

An especially encouraging sign for Poway homes for sale was a decreasing number of foreclosures, according to an April 23, 2010 article in the Valley News. According to this piece, “The number of Riverside County homes slipping toward foreclosures dropped by 49.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, a real estate information service reported Tuesday.” This article continued to note that “Lenders sent default notices to 8,474 homeowners in Riverside County in the first quarter, down from the previous year’s first-quarter total of 16,906, according to La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick. Meanwhile, the number of San Diego County homes slipping toward foreclosure dropped by 39 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009.”

However, there may be trouble on the horizon for Poway real estate, as a major lending crisis may be on the horizon for the region. According to an April 13, 2010 article in the North County Times, “Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, ramped up its foreclosure activity in March, sending hundreds of letters warning delinquent borrowers in the region that it could sell their homes at auction in as little as three weeks, according to North County Times analysis of data from ForeclosureRadar. The bank said the increased activity was a natural consequence of borrowers running out of options.”

Located about an hour north of San Francisco, the city of Santa Rosa lies at the northern end of the Bay Area. Despite the real estate struggles faced by many real estate markets throughout California since 2007, the economic recession that began in the fall of 2008 only worsened the situation, causing foreclosure rates to rocket upwards, median prices to slide, and real estate activity to stall. The financial stability of California and the concern for job security have also been major obstacles slowing the recovery of the Santa Rosa real estate, as well as that of the entire Bay Area real estate market. However, real estate experts have seen promising signs over the past few months with increasing median prices and a pick up in home sales, providing optimistic views of the Santa Rosa real estate market and suggesting that recovery is near.

According to DQNews.com, the Bay Area real estate has posted major improvements over the past several months, resulting in the first year over year gains in home sales and median prices seen in months. The median price for new and resale houses posted during the month of November was $387,000, a slight drop from the $390,000 level posted during the previous months, but still up 10.6 percent from the $350,000 seen during November of 2008. Home sales also rose over the past several of months, with a total of 6,878 new and resale houses and condos sold in November, down 13.3 percent from the previous month, but up 19.5 percent from the previous year. Real estate experts aren’t worried about the slight drop between October and November though, because historical data trends have shown the decline to be normal. Experts believe that the dwindling inventory of foreclosed or distressed properties have been the major cause for the increase in median sales prices, and the federal tax credit is believed to have played a major role in the recent uptick in home sales.

The North Bay Business Journal has also reported that there are promising signs for the commercial real estate market in the North Bay area. Many real estate experts believe the market has already hit bottom, so the only direction it can go in is up. The affordability of office space has allowed vacancy rates to stabilize as landlords take extra measures to keep their tenants happy. Experts have also noted that stabilizing unemployment rates have also played a major role in the recent improvements made in the commercial real estate market.

Real estate experts hold optimistic views of the Berkeley real estate market’s future, as recent months have shown promising improvements with increases in both home sales and median prices.  Despite concerns over job security and another wave of home foreclosures, activity in the Berkeley real estate market has increased in the past few months as a result of the federal tax credit and affordability of housing due to the large inventory of “bargain” priced properties that were previously foreclosed on.  Although it is unsure whether the Bay Area real estate is out of the woods and working towards a full recovery, real estate experts are hopeful that the future will continue to bring improvements.

According to DQNews.com, the Bay Area in California has posted increases in both home sales and median sales prices to top levels seen during the previous year.  In November, the median price paid for new or resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area was $387,000, a 10.6 percent increase from $350,000 in November of 2008.  November was the second month that the Bay Area has posted year-over-year gains in its median sales price, but the current median price level is still 41.8 percent below the $665,000 average posted during the peak reached in the summer of 2007.  The Bay Area also posted 6,878 new and resale house and condo sales during the month of November, which was a 19.5 percent increase from the 5,756 sales posted in November of 2008.  There was a slight dip in the sales and median price between October and November, but real estate experts aren’t concerned since the market was only following the usual market trends.

Nuwire Investor has also reported the recent improvements made in the Bay Area real estate market in terms of its median prices.  Nuwire Investor has noted that most real estate experts feel that the reduced number of foreclosures selling and greater activity in the more expensive housing markets have been the major factors in the recent increase in the median sales prices.  The year-over-year increases posted in October and November of 2009 were the first time the Bay Area has had year-over-year increases since November of 2007.

Like so many other cities in the Golden State, Oakland, California, took a heavy hit when the residential real estate crisis began plaguing communities across America, helping to trigger the country’s worst economic recession in decades. Oakland saw more struggling mortgage holders, higher inventory due to foreclosures and a falling in prices. But lately the market there has shown signs of improvement and reason for optimism.

According to the California Association of Realtor’s data, prices in Oakland, unlike in so many other cities across the nation, actually saw a bounce back up in late 2009. In October, the median price for homes for sale in Oakland the sold, including ew and existing, condos and single-family homes, was $250,000, up slightly from the figure during the same time of 2008, when it was just $238,000. The figure makes for a 5% increase year-over-year.

The Oakland Association of Realtor’s data shows similar figures. In October, there were 454 homes listed for sale in the Oakland real estate market, at a median sales price of $402,113. The asking price was down from 2008′s $419,013, but the number of listings in the month has seen a steady drop. In 2008, there were 666 homes listed; this year, there were just 454.

Sales, too, show signs of improvement. The market for real estate in Oakland saw 388 homes closed upon in October, up slightly from 2008, when 368 homes sold. The homes sold had a median price of nearly $373,000, up from 2008, when that figure was just around $352,000. The days the homes spent on the market had fallen too — from 56 to 40. The coming of 2010 will show whether the Oakland market is back on its way up for good, or if these signs were just passing.