AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

The East Bay real estate market is closely related to the real estate market of the greater Bay Area, which consists of the San Francisco urban area and the surrounding suburban regions. The East Bay and Bay areas are notable as being among the most diverse in the country in terms of types of property, property values, and neighborhoods. East Bay, along with the rest of greater San Francisco, was hit quite hard by the collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis along with the rest of the nationwide economic recession. Since that, along with the decline of the local economy, analysts have been eagerly awaiting the chance to declare an impending recovery.

According to an August 21, 2009 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the real estate market in East Bay area may have reached a soft bottom in terms of prices and sales. The article, headlined “Real estate market’s soft bottom throws up new median price”, went on to say that “It may only be a soft bottom but it’s nonetheless being cautiously heralded as a bottom to the real estate downturn.” According to John Walsh, the president of DataQuick, “Evidence is mounting that in some areas we’ve approached at least a soft bottom for home prices.” The statistics presented by DataQuick indicated that the median home prices increased by approximately twelve percent during the month, making June the fourth consecutive month of price increases.

A second article in the San Francisco Chronicle published on August 22, 2009 seconded that opinion, finding that “home sales gained ground in both the Bay Area and the nation in July, according to two real estate reports released Friday.” It continued to provide an optimistic outlook for East Bay homes, saying that “the number of homes changing hands was up from a year ago, said both MDA DataQuick and the National Association of Realtors.” Additionally, an August 21, 2009 article in the Mercury News from the Associated Press stated that “The median home price in California rose about 2 percent last month from June, signaling that the state’s housing market may be nearing ‘a soft bottom’.”