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Balloons and “open house” signs dotted Nevada County neighborhoods over the weekend, as selective sellers hunted for bargains and looked to take advantage of low interest rates.
The median price for houses and condominiums in the county continued to fall compared to prices last year, reaching $360,000. But the decline is not as steep as in other major markets, a real estate tracking firm reported.
It’s difficult to say whether the local market could be reaching a bottom, three area real estate agents said Sunday.
“You never know what the bottom is of the market until it starts to go back up,” said Lisa Uhl of Coldwell-Banker Grass Roots Realty. She was showing a home on Alta Street in Grass Valley, which was packed with prospective buyers earlier in the day.
“People were waiting to see what was going to happen with the lending industry,” Uhl said.
Now that the banks seem to have survived the economic storm and did not collapse, people have more confidence to go out and spend, she added.
The county’s March median of $360,000 was a drop of more than 13 percent from the year before but higher than the February median of $320,000, according to figures from MDA DataQuick, a real estate tracking firm based in San Diego.
Local real estate experts always caution that countywide figures fail to define differences between the western county and Truckee, where the median prices are much higher. The March median was $300,000 in Grass Valley and $543,500 in Truckee, according to DataQuick figures.
“There is a feeling the market is picking up,” said Barbara Parrott, who saw “tons” of people at an open house on Richardson Street, also for Coldwell-Banker. “One year ago I had no buyers. Now, I have buyers and they are making offers.
“Maybe we’re getting to the bottom; it feel like things are changing,” Parrott added.
“What people need to understand, though, is this doesn’t mean prices will start going up.”
Although she had only seen one person at the high-end home she was showing on Freeman Lane, Realtor Pam Auld was optimistic.
“I do not feel like we’ve bottomed out, but not all the houses will continue to freefall” in price, Auld said.
Many buyers are “very selective,” looking to make a killing on homes priced above $400,000, but the best return now is on homes between $300,000 and $100,000, Auld added.
Statewide, the number of homes sold rose for the ninth month in a row as buyers take advantage of low prices and low interest rates, and trends for March in some markets indicated prices there could be approaching bottom, DataQuick reported.
More than half the residences sold in California in March were in foreclosure, compared to a third in March 2008, DataQuick reported. Many market watchers attribute the declining prices to those foreclosures.
In the nine Bay Area counties, the median price for March fell nearly 46 percent to $290,000. In the six Southern California counties, the median price fell 35 percent to $250,000, DataQuick reported. Activity in those markets typically shapes the local market, as local buyers often come from those areas.
DataQuick gathers information on sales recorded in county recorders' offices.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237. To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
The median price for houses and condominiums in the county continued to fall compared to prices last year, reaching $360,000. But the decline is not as steep as in other major markets, a real estate tracking firm reported.
It’s difficult to say whether the local market could be reaching a bottom, three area real estate agents said Sunday.
“You never know what the bottom is of the market until it starts to go back up,” said Lisa Uhl of Coldwell-Banker Grass Roots Realty. She was showing a home on Alta Street in Grass Valley, which was packed with prospective buyers earlier in the day.
“People were waiting to see what was going to happen with the lending industry,” Uhl said.
Now that the banks seem to have survived the economic storm and did not collapse, people have more confidence to go out and spend, she added.
The county’s March median of $360,000 was a drop of more than 13 percent from the year before but higher than the February median of $320,000, according to figures from MDA DataQuick, a real estate tracking firm based in San Diego.
Local real estate experts always caution that countywide figures fail to define differences between the western county and Truckee, where the median prices are much higher. The March median was $300,000 in Grass Valley and $543,500 in Truckee, according to DataQuick figures.
“There is a feeling the market is picking up,” said Barbara Parrott, who saw “tons” of people at an open house on Richardson Street, also for Coldwell-Banker. “One year ago I had no buyers. Now, I have buyers and they are making offers.
“Maybe we’re getting to the bottom; it feel like things are changing,” Parrott added.
“What people need to understand, though, is this doesn’t mean prices will start going up.”
Although she had only seen one person at the high-end home she was showing on Freeman Lane, Realtor Pam Auld was optimistic.
“I do not feel like we’ve bottomed out, but not all the houses will continue to freefall” in price, Auld said.
Many buyers are “very selective,” looking to make a killing on homes priced above $400,000, but the best return now is on homes between $300,000 and $100,000, Auld added.
Statewide, the number of homes sold rose for the ninth month in a row as buyers take advantage of low prices and low interest rates, and trends for March in some markets indicated prices there could be approaching bottom, DataQuick reported.
More than half the residences sold in California in March were in foreclosure, compared to a third in March 2008, DataQuick reported. Many market watchers attribute the declining prices to those foreclosures.
In the nine Bay Area counties, the median price for March fell nearly 46 percent to $290,000. In the six Southern California counties, the median price fell 35 percent to $250,000, DataQuick reported. Activity in those markets typically shapes the local market, as local buyers often come from those areas.
DataQuick gathers information on sales recorded in county recorders' offices.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237. To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
