2007 Monterey County Annual Real Estate Report

Median Home Price Ekes Out Small Gain in 2007

Prices of single-family, re-sale homes and condos rose in 2007. Of course, the numbers are a bit deceptive, especially in this market. First, the number of home sales above $1,000,000 has increased and this has the effect of skewing the numbers upward.

The median price for single-family homes for the year was $680,000, a gain of 0.7% over 2006. The average price gained 11% to $1,014,186.

The median price for condos rose 4.6% to $486,500 over 2006, and the average price gained 1.4% to $573,335.

Inventory was lower last year compared to 2006, which probably helped keep prices firm. The number of new listings that came to market last year was 3.5% lower than the year before for homes, and down 2.9% for condos.

The story of the year was the credit crunch. It slashed demand to the bone. Gone are 100% mortgages and no-doc mortgages. The tightening of underwriting has caused many people not to qualify for a home loan.

Sales were already weak before the credit crunch, but afterwards, they went into free-fall. Home sales dropped 33.6% from 2006, while condo sales were off 24.7%. This is now the third year in a row home sales have fallen. I expect we're nearing the bottom of the market, although we probably won't see much of a pick-up until the second half of the year.

P.S. To see the annual trend charts and tables for the individual cities in Monterey County, click on the desired city name in the menu to the left.

Monterey County
(Single Family Homes)
  Units Prices % Change from year before
Year Listed Sold Median Average Listed Sold Med Ave
1995 3,909 1,652 $209,000 $283,943        
1996 3,809 1,929 $224,900 $320,160 -2.6% 16.8% 7.6% 12.8%
1997 3,452 2,271 $242,750 $353,591 -9.4% 17.7% 7.9% 10.4%
1998 3,431 2,571 $248,960 $372,128 -0.6% 13.2% 2.6% 5.2%
1999 3,186 2,609 $289,900 $444,335 -7.1% 1.5% 16.4% 19.4%
2000 3,300 2,669 $347,000 $574,671 3.6% 2.3% 19.7% 29.3%
2001 3,945 2,099 $350,000 $531,605 19.5% -21.4% 0.9% -7.5%
2002 4,076 2,940 $375,000 $549,074 3.3% 40.1% 7.1% 3.3%
2003 4,126 3,196 $439,000 $585,889 1.2% 8.7% 17.1% 6.7%
2004 4,538 3,612 $559,000 $729,603 10.0% 13.0% 27.3% 24.5%
2005 5,722 3,504 $659,000 $873,773 26.1% -3.0% 17.9% 19.8%
2006 6,342 2,228 $675,000 $913,560 10.8% -36.4% 2.4% 4.6%
2007 6,121 1,479 $680,000 $1,014,186 -3.5% -33.6% 0.7% 11.0%

The chart below has the prices and the unit sales in the thousands. If you see a chart with ($000's), then only the price is in the thousands and the unit sales are as they appear.

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Monterey County
(Townhomes/Condominiums)
  Units Prices % Change from year before
Year Listed Sold Median Average Listed Sold Med Ave
1995 608 245 $164,000 $199,210        
1996 546 283 $176,500 $211,142 -10.2% 15.5% 7.6% 6.0%
1997 478 350 $192,500 $244,824 -12.5% 23.7% 9.1% 16.0%
1998 448 399 $163,450 $278,919 -6.3% 14.0% -15.1% 13.9%
1999 385 347 $180,000 $267,279 -14.1% -13.0% 10.1% -4.2%
2000 363 303 $243,000 $328,528 -5.7% -12.7% 35.0% 22.9%
2001 483 277 $255,000 $316,739 33.1% -8.6% 4.9% -3.6%
2002 498 351 $279,900 $361,598 3.1% 26.7% 9.8% 14.2%
2003 458 371 $310,000 $391,107 -8.0% 5.7% 10.8% 8.2%
2004 476 407 $400,000 $479,117 3.9% 9.7% 29.0% 22.5%
2005 581 439 $437,000 $537,821 22.1% 7.9% 9.3% 12.3%
2006 654 247 $465,000 $565,235 12.6% -43.7% 6.4% 5.1%
2007 635 186 $486,500 $573,335 -2.9% -24.7% 4.6% 1.4%


DEFINITIONS

Med. Price
Median Price is that at which 50% of properties sold were above that price and 50% were below.
Ave. Price
Average Price is the sum of all prices divided by the number of sales.
Ave. DOM
Average Days on Market is the average time it took to sell all properties.
Newly Listed
How many properties came on the market in the given time period.