RISMEDIA, July 27, 2010—Despite slowdowns in home sales across the country, California is still the nation’s hottest spot for home buying activity, with homes fetching multiple offers and selling above list price, according to the Q2 2010 Home Hunter report released by ZipRealty.
The report revealed that California was home to 91 out of the country’s 100 “hottest” zip codes, defined as those where homes were selling on average for most above list price, in Q2 2010. The report compared home sale prices to original list prices based on MLS data within 5,400 cities across 33 markets the national brokerage serves. The report also revealed that seven out of ten zip codes nationwide where homes were selling most below asking price for the same time period were located in Florida.
Additional highlights from the ZipRealty Q2 2010 Home Hunter Report include:
-Berkeley, California’s 94703 is the country’s “hottest” zip code, with homes selling on average for almost 8% above the asking price, or an additional $45,000 over list, on average.
-Winchester, Connecticut’s 06098 was the nation’s “coldest” zip code in Q2, with homes selling there on average nearly 30% under list price—an average savings of more than $200,000.
-Zip codes in California, and specifically the Bay Area, remain the “hottest” for buyer demand, including zip codes in Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose.
-The country’s “coldest markets” have warmed slightly since Q2 of 2009—with homes in the country’s 10 coldest zip codes selling for an average of 18% below asking price in Q2 of this year, as compared to an average of 22% below asking price in Q2 2009.
-High-end housing markets nationwide continue to offer relative bargains for buyers. For example, in Miami’s Palm Beach (33480), buyers paid an average of around $1.1 million for a home in Q2, an average of $232,492 below list price. In Cape Cod’s Osterville (02655), homes sold on average for 16% below asking price, or an average of $180,437 under asking.
-According to the total number of home searches on www.ZipRealty.com, Phoenix and its surrounding neighborhoods continue to be the most popular searched areas in the country.
“The hot housing market in the second quarter in California may have resulted from increased demand from the government tax incentives without a lot of homes for sale, so many home sellers received multiple bids and sold their homes over the asking prices,” said Leslie Tyler, vice president for ZipRealty. “Florida is showing some encouraging signs of improvement, as they work off the large numbers of distressed properties. Homes in Miami are even selling close to asking price, a significant change from what we’ve been seeing over the past year.”
For more information, visit www.ziprealty.com.
