ZipRealty Home Inventory by Metro, January 2010

Download Price Reduction January 2010 FINAL Click on image below for a larger view.

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The Number of "For Sale" Homes Increased 2.9 Percent in January 2010

January marked the first time in 18 months that more homes were listed "for sale" compared to the previous month, with an additional 15,000 homes, or a 2.9% increase, listed for sale compared to December according to the January Housing Inventory Index, a survey of Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listed homes in 27 major U.S.housing markets

Other highlights from ZipRealty's January Housing Inventory Index include:

• The number of home listings year-over-year remains down 22.3%, with 163,000 fewer homes on the market.


• The combined number of MLS-listed single family homes and condos within the 27 major U.S. markets surveyed in January totaled 567,265, up from 551,447 in December.


• Markets in California showed significant jumps in inventory in January with month-over-month increases of 10.1% in the San Francisco Bay Area, 8% in Orange County, 4.5% in Los Angeles, and 6.5% in San Diego.


• Baltimore was one of only two markets where the number of homes listed for sale decreased, at a modest 1.9%. In Miami, ZipRealty tracked a minor decrease of .05%.


• The average median list price of $258,634 was relatively flat in January, down 1% (or $2,521).

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Home Supply Posts Modest Rise (blogs.wsj.com)

New Jersey Home Buyers Now to Receive a Rebate from ZipRealty

For home buyers in New Jersey, today is an exciting day.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill sponsored by state Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr., Paul D. Moriarty and Joseph Vas  that allows New Jersey home buyers across the state to receive a cash rebate, once they close on their home, from real estate brokerages, including ZipRealty. With people being asked to cough up higher down payments and meet more stringent lending standards than ever to purchase a house these days, the ability to get a check after closing – or even cover those closing costs with a rebate from your real estate agent – is sure to be a boon for both cash-strapped buyers and the New Jersey housing market overall.

The process of getting this law passed, however, that didn’t happen overnight.

For the past three years, ZipRealty has worked closely with public officials in New Jersey to promote the importance of offering a rebate to buyers once they’ve purchased their home.  We’ve attended countless committee hearings, and I’ve personally testified to New Jersey real estate committees about the fact that offering a rebate to home buyers can help stimulate local housing markets, and offers buyers with more real estate brokerage choices.

The real estate industry, historically, has been about what’s best for the agent.  We recognized more than a decade ago when ZipRealty first launched that this old industry model was broken.  Our goal from day one has been to always put the home buyer first and to provide the most transparency possible online. 

ZipRealty was among the first brokerages nationally to include all homes posted to Multiple Listing Services on ZipRealty.com, and we continue to offer our clients the most in-depth housing data and comparable sales figures available - anywhere.  We were also the first national brokerage to offer our clients the ability to rate and review any listing in any market, and the first to post ratings and reviews for our 3,000-plus agents.

We believe that if our clients are using our innovative tools and online features to help search for homes and tour properties that are likely to be the best fit for them, we should share a portion of our commission.

Offering a rebate is something that we do in nearly all of the major markets we operate.  In fact, we’ve rebated more than $100 million since 1999 to our clients in 36 major U.S. housing markets across 22 states, including the District of Columbia.  

We’ve been actively working with buyers and sellers in Philadelphia for the past several years, and our agents in southern New Jersey work extensively with buyers and sellers in Camden and Gloucester counties.  These clients are offered the same transparency that we offer our clients elsewhere - but have not been able to provide a rebate to date.  That changes starting today.  And we couldn’t be more excited for each client.

Surprisingly, there are 10 other states nationally that continue to prohibit real estate rebates – including Oregon, both North and South Dakota and Alabama, which limits brokerages like ZipRealty from offering home buyers and sellers a fresh approach to real estate.  A lack of competition means that buyers may not be seeing all home listings and receive a poorer level of customer service. 

We plan to work with public officials in these states to reconsider their stance against real estate rebates, so that more buyers and sellers will hopefully one day have the same choices that those in New Jersey now do.

Today, we applaud the efforts of the three assemblymen (Patrick Diegnan, Jr., Paul Moriarty and Joseph Vas), who sponsored this bill and vigorously argued for its passage, the New Jersey state assembly for voting through this bill (34-0), and Governor Corzine for signing this bill into law. 

For those in New Jersey, we look forward to serving your real estate needs … and keep an eye out for a rebate check from ZipRealty once you’ve bought the home of your dreams. 

J. Patrick Lashinsky

President and CEO

Sonoma County – Housing Update for December 2009

County: Sonoma	Year to Year Comparison
Month	Dec-2008	Dec-2009	% Change
% Sold Price to Asking Price	96.2%	97.6%	1%
Sold Homes	459	438	-5%
Asking Price Per Home	$ 379,077	$ 420,475	11%
Sold Price Per Home	$ 364,582	$ 410,323	13%
Sold Price Per Sq Ft	$ 219	$ 240	9%
MLS Days On Market Per Home	99	91	-8%
	Month to Month Comparison
Month	Nov-2009	Dec-2009	% Change
% Sold Price to Asking Price	97.3%	97.6%	0%
Sold Homes	429	438	2%
Asking Price Per Home	$ 441,697	$ 420,475	-5%
Sold Price Per Home	$ 429,936	$ 410,323	-5%
Sold Price Per Sq Ft	$ 253	$ 240	-5%
MLS Days On Market Per Home	98	91	-7%

Talk with a local San Francisco, Peninsula & North Bay Real Estate Agent. Read detailed neighborhood profiles in San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Search for San Francisco, Peninsula & North Bay homes and condos for sale. These numbers reflect single family (SFR) and condo homes only. All numbers are from the MLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of 1/8/10.

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• Sonoma County Housing Market Update for September 2009 (ziprealty.typepad.com)

Solano County – Housing Market Update for December 2009

County: Solano	Year to Year Comparison
Month	Dec-2008	Dec-2009	% Change
% Sold Price to Asking Price	96.0%	100.4%	5%
Sold Homes	585	497	-15%
Asking Price Per Home	$ 241,544	$ 229,804	-5%
Sold Price Per Home	$ 231,905	$ 230,715	-1%
Sold Price Per Sq Ft	$ 137	$ 135	-1%
MLS Days On Market Per Home	80	61	-24%
	Month to Month Comparison
Month	Nov-2009	Dec-2009	% Change
% Sold Price to Asking Price	100.8%	100.4%	0%
Sold Homes	450	497	10%
Asking Price Per Home	$ 232,541	$ 229,804	-1%
Sold Price Per Home	$ 234,374	$ 230,715	-2%
Sold Price Per Sq Ft	$ 137	$ 135	-1%
MLS Days On Market Per Home	60	61	3%

Talk with a local San Francisco, Peninsula & North Bay Real Estate Agent. Read detailed neighborhood profiles in San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Search for San Francisco, Peninsula & North Bay homes and condos for sale. These numbers reflect single family (SFR) and condo homes only. All numbers are from the MLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of 1/8/10.

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• Solano County Housing Market Update for September 2009 (ziprealty.typepad.com)
• Solano County - Housing Market Update for October 2009 (ziprealty.typepad.com)