At the beginning of each month I take raw data from our MLS to produce this report for the most recent market conditions. These charts represent listings in all areas in the DAMLS, except “Out Of Area”, and differ from other Valley statistics that cover more specific areas. The last month data will possibly change, as some sales data entries are delayed. It is updated in the next month. Errors are generally small, but the result will give you recent sales data up to a month before other sources. March Report As of March 3, there were 6,071 residential in-area listings on our MLS at a median price of $369,900 A drop in the median price of sold properties in February is a bit unexpected after steady increases, but it does reflect the larger than normal January drop in the number of sales. The drops may be due to the reported decline in consumer confidence, or it may be a market adjustment against prices that may have been increasing too quickly. Looking back at the 1990's California housing bust, it took 10 years for prices to return to their peak, and that was a smaller bubble than we just had. If the future held such a pattern it would mean a slow-growing, but stable housing market, where both Sellers and Buyers can work with relative confidence about the future. Downward housing price pressures will continue for some time because of unemployment, defaults and economic uncertainty, but this could be offset by lower prices and the lower dollar bringing more buyers. Subsidized lower interest rates are also bringing buyers. As these interplay, along with seasonal sale rates, we might expect further volatility. The banks are thought to be holding foreclosed properties off the market, and that may be driving down buyer interest, as we did see higher activity and better prices in the latter half of 2009 when the REO inventory was higher.  The chart below shows the January and February declines were shared about equally by the REO (bank-owned) and non=REO sales. The bottom chart shows the supply of REO properties has weakened. 
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