As the housing market continues to fluctuate, it seems that as soon as we figure out where it is at…IndyMac fails, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae need help, etc. So, I decided to take a look at some hard data. Here is what I did: I looked at all of the closed sales in the 92880 zip code of Corona, CA. My intention was to see what information was out there and then what conclusions could be drawn from that information.
The data…81 homes closed escrow. Of these homes the vast majority were REOs (64 of 81). These homes spent an average of 56 days on the market. The homes that spent the longest time on the market were on for 394 and 361 days respectively. Six of them were sold in the first three days on the market. The average sales price was $379,830.25. The average listing price was $377,727.14, generating a difference of only 0.05%.
The biggest changes down were:
Address Sale List Price/Sq Type %down
8608 Vienna Dr 465,000 399,900 $162.99 REO 16.28
13756 Hill Grove St. 385,000 334,900 $116.49 REO 14.96
13746 Apple Moss Ct 390,000 339,499 $130.57 REO 14.86
13331 Kamelia St 410,000 358,900 $117.44 REO 14.24
7854 Port Arthur Dr 405,000 356,900 $133.62 REO 13.48
The biggest changes up were:
Address Sale List Price/Sq Type %up
7173 Cottage Grove 480,000 550,000 $124.97 NEW 12.73
5903 Red Haven St 350,000 398,000 $105.94 S.S 12.07
5940 Red Haven St 341,000 379,900 $184.72 REO 11.24
6171 Royal Diamond 360,500 399,900 $139.78 Resale 9.83
7316 Pinewood Ct 440,000 484,900 $147.90 Resale 9.26
13901 Burrage St 319,000 351,500 $124.22 REO 9.25
Items that are unknown about this data are: 1.) how much paid by the seller for closing costs, 2.) how many offers were received for these properties, 3.) how many of the buyers utilized down payment assistance programs, 4.) the condition of the property, and 5.) how many upgrades were done to the property.
What conclusions do we come to?
Of the six biggest downward changers, only two were bank owned properties. All six of the biggest shifts up were bank owned homes. This tells me that the banks, for the most part, are listing the homes low in hopes of running the prices up. It also tells me that the new homes, resale homes and short sales are still pricing their homes too high.
Conclusion: the banks are driving the price in this area.
