Second Quarter 2011 Real Estate Review

Happy July!

Today is the first day of July, which means we have reached the halfway point of 2011, and the end of the second quarter. It also means the Danville 4th of July Parade is just a weekend away — my favorite Danville event of the year.

With rates incredibly low and inventory climbing, it’s been a busy real estate year. The year started off a little sleepy, but sales took off in Q2:

• In Alamo, 45 sales in Q2 vs only 19 in Q1. The median sales price went up from $910,000 in Q1 to $1,085,000 in Q2.
• In Danville, 186 sales in Q2 vs only 124 in Q1. The median sales price went up from $731,000 in Q1 to $735,000 in Q2.
• In Blackhawk, sales were steady: 23 sales in each quarter. The median sales price was $1 million in Q1 and went down to $930,000 in Q2, but the days on the market, which averaged 123 in Q1, was only 63 in Q2.

This quarter compared with last year’s second quarter also has interesting information:

• In Alamo, the numbers are very similar: 45 this year compared with 49 last year; the median is around $1.1 million both years.
• In Danville, sales were down this year (186) over last year’s 220; and the median price was down a bit also: $755,000 from nearly $800,000 last year.
• In Blackhawk, the 23 sales from this year are down from 40 last year and the median price went down a bit ($933,000 from $977,000).

10 years ago, sales in Alamo, Danville and Blackhawk numbered 409 for the second quarter. The peak was in 2004, when sales were up to 522 for Q2. By 2005, sales had dropped to 351, then in '06 and '07, sales were steady at 290 each year. In 2008-09, the number dropped below 200: 180 in '08 and 163 in '09. Last year's 309 was the highest volume since 2005, and this year is close.

Volume is up or at least steady and median prices, if not steady, aren't dropping dramatically either. The real estate news in Alamo, Danville and Blackhawk isn't dire.

National headlines may differ, but our local market is pretty steady. You know what they say about location (and location, location).

The best location on Monday is Hartz Avenue. Don't miss the parade!