The Middle of the Real Estate Market

April 9, 2008
I am not suggesting that we have reached the middle of a declining market. Frankly, we probably will only know when the bottom has been reached several months after the bottom actually occurs. What I am posting today is the "median" price of homes reported through the IMRMLS in the first quarter of 2008. The process was definitely not scientific. I simply found the property that was the one at the middle of the reported sales. The assumption being that one half of the properties sold were less than that price and one half exceeded that price. The mix of properties being sold influences this "median" price.
Banning/Beaumont...2008/$250,000 --2007/$305,000--2006/$375,000
Bloomington...............2008/$240,000 --2007/$390,000--2006/$365,000
Colton..........................2008/$250,000 --2007/$317,000--2006/$330,000
Fontana.......................2008/$335,000 --2007/$425,000--2006/$405,000
Grand Terrace............2008/$289,000 --2007/$389,000--2006/$370,000
Highland.....................2008/$280,000 --2007/$375,000--2006/$360,000
Loma Linda.................2008/$336,000 --2007/$430,000--2006/$430,000
Mentone......................2008/$315,000 -- 2007/$335,000--2006/$293,000
Moreno Valley............2008/$240,000 -- 2007/$365,000--2006/$375,000
Redlands.....................2008/$345,000 -- 2007/$425,000--2006$390,000
Rialto..........................2008/$255,000 -- 2007/$375,000--2006/$375,000
Riverside....................2008/$310,000 -- 2007/$340,000--2006/$375,000
San Bernardino.........2008/$210,000 -- 2007/$315,000--2006/$340,000
Yucaipa/Calimesa....2008/$299,000 -- 2007/$384,000--2006/$365,000
Moreno Valley, Bloomington, Rialto and San Bernardino all show drops of 30% or greater. Fontana, Grand Terrace, Loma Linda, Yucaipa/Calimesa, Colton and Highland show a decrease between 20% and 30%. Redlands and the Banning Beaumont area show a decline of less than 20%. Riverside and Mentone showed declines under 10%.
Since the month of March showed some improvement, it will be interesting to see if the improvement continues in April.