Foreclosure Activity and Unemployment

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association the number of households which are behind 30 days or more on their mortgage payments has declined from 14.4% to 13.5%. As for loans which are more than 3 consecutive payments in default or in foreclosure, the number dropped to 8.7% - the lowest since the second quarter of 2009.

Banks continued to report an increase in loan modification approvals - Bank of America saw a 52% increase over the previous month. The moratorium on foreclosures remains in force for most of the major banks.

Housing starts fell by 11.7% in October over the previous month down to a seasonally adjusted rate of 519,000 – an 18 month low.

All the above factors suggest low housing inventories in the months to come.

Bay Area Home Sale Activity

Bay Area home sales generally saw a decline in October sales by more than 20% compared to the same period last year. Prices fell by approximately 2%. The slowdown is attributable in large part to the expiry of the federal tax credit.

Ruby Hill Experiences Seasonal Slowdown

The seasonal slowdown is on. There has been very little movement in the number of homes which have sold or gone pending since last month’s report. Three homes came off the market – one was rented, a couple of them were withdrawn. One expired listing made its way back. Several expired listings have not come back on the market this year as sellers hold back from selling in a declining price market. Another bank owned home came on the market – 1371 Germano Way.


November 30, 2010      Total                Bank owned share             Short Sale Share

Active                             18                        2                                        0

Pending                           12                        0                                        4

Sold to date 2010*         52                        3                                         8

*COE 01/01/10 or later



Last year a total of 43 homes sold/went pending as compared to 64 so far this year – clearly a significant improvement, despite lower prices.

If you would like further information please visit my website http://www.rubyhillliving.com/ or email me at anju@RubyHillLiving.com

California foreclosure activity in 3rd Quarter

Although California home mortgage defaults have fallen 26% from in the third quarter compared to 2009, they climbed 19 percent from the previous three months according to MDA DataQuick.


Homeowners received 83,261 default notices, up from 70,051 in the second quarter. California’s unemployment rate was 12.4 percent in September. Unemployment is the primary reason for the increasing rate of default and foreclosures.

The foreclosure moratorium announced by Bank of America and other major banks due to shoddy paperwork will continue to add to the slowdown of bank owned properties making their way to the housing supply which prevents an additional downward pressure on home prices. Additionally, according to Rich Sharga, an executive at Realty Trac there are approximately 600,000 bank owned properties nationwide which are not being marketed currently but will be released gradually as the market stabilizes.

Please contact Anju Bhatia for further information or comments: Anju@RubyHillLiving.com

Pleasanton home sales in September

In Pleasanton September home sales went down as compared to the same month last year by almost 30%, however home prices went up by 7.47%.  The decline in sales can be largely attributed to the expiry of the federal tax credit for home purchase. The easing of credit for jumbo loans has positively impacted median home prices. At current selling rates there is a 4 month supply of homes in Pleasanton, which is healthy.

Ruby Hill homes for October 2010

Interestingly, the large homes have done quite well with 11 of the homes which sold/or are pending this year being 8,000 s.f. or more. The largest of these is over $12,000 s.f. on over an acre of land! As fewer homeowners choose to sell their home in this market, the inventory is low whilst sales are continuing at a steady pace with 63 homes having sold or gone pending since the beginning of this year.


October 30, 2010     Total        Bank owned share       Short Sale Share

Active                       18                        1                               0

Pending                     11                       0                               4

Sold to date 2010*   52                       3                                8

*COE 01/01/10 or later

1773 Via di Salerno remains the only bank owned property among the 18 active properties in Ruby Hill. A total of 15 homes sold/pending since the start of this year are either bank owned/potential short sales out of a total of 63. The average price per square foot of sold properties this year is $335 and the days on market are approximately 50.

Last year a total of 43 homes sold/went pending. Clearly this year there has seen a significant increase in Ruby Hill sales activity.

Median Home Prices up in 3rd Quarter in Alameda County

Although 3rd quarter sales are down by 25% this year compared to last year in the Alameda county, median prices are up by 14% and the average days on market are down by 8 to 38 days. With the easing of jumbo loans as compared to last year, the demand for higher priced homes began to show greater strenth. Click here to read the full story.