Contra Costa Housing Market for Feb. 2006

Here are the latest year over year housing statistics for Contra Costa County courtesy of Data Quick for the month of February. It’s interesting to see the changes in certain markets that were showing strength last fall. Walnut Creek had a surprisingly large drop in value with Antioch ticking up… Antioch had shown real weakness last year.

I always look at these numbers with a bit of skepticism and remember that statistics have a way of hiding the truth occasionally. For instance, if a large number of condos were sold in Feb of 2007 compared to Feb 2006, this may skew the numbers downwards. Condos tend to be more liquid and volatile in any given market. I’ve seen prices spike and move up drastically in a short period of time and move down quickly in weaker markets. So, these numbers are missing critical information about Single Family Residences/Condos/New Homes breakdown numbers.

County/City/Area	# Sold	Feb 2007	Feb 2006	% Change
ALAMO	11	$1,250,000	$1,300,000	-3.85%
ANTIOCH	82	$500,000	$480,000	4.17%
BRENTWOOD2	60	$523,250	$699,500	-25.20%
BYRON	27	$550,000	$667,500	-17.60%
CLAYTON	12	$599,500	$799,000	-24.97%
CONCORD	108	$510,000	$528,000	-3.41%
CROCKETT	2	$518,750	$495,000	4.80%
DANVILLE	74	$951,750	$875,000	8.77%
EL CERRITO	21	$550,000	$637,500	-13.73%
EL SOBRANTE	19	$535,000	$510,000	4.90%
HERCULES	16	$570,000	$636,500	-10.45%
LAFAYETTE	18	$915,000	$982,500	-6.87%
MARTINEZ	44	$531,000	$599,500	-11.43%
MORAGA	12	$826,500	$779,000	6.10%
OAKLEY	55	$499,500	$494,500	1.01%
ORINDA	13	$1,124,000	$992,000	13.31%
PINOLE	10	$525,000	$535,000	-1.87%
PITTSBURG	59	$449,000	$449,500	-0.11%
PLEASANT HILL	28	$627,500	$627,500	0.00%
RICHMOND	69	$420,000	$460,000	-8.70%
RODEO	2	$534,500	$563,500	-5.15%
SAN PABLO	38	$461,500	$462,000	-0.11%
SAN RAMON	121	$741,000	$834,500	-11.20%
WALNUT CREEK	92	$519,000	$667,500	-22.25%

The other data that I like to think predicts the future of the market (in two to three month forward ranges) is the average number of days on the market for all listings.

Winter is typically slower, so these numbers must be compared year over year in my opinion if they are to be used as a gauge of current market outlook.

Thanks for reading and I’ll post more info about the market in my next update.

For more about the Contra Costa Homes and Selling or Buying contact us at California Home Connection.

Written by Pete Wagner