The average median sales price for the year for all our local Westside real estate markets is $1,049,272. This compares to $1,184,372 for the same time period  in 2007. This is a decrease of 11.2% in overall prices so far in 2008.  Digging a little deeper you will see that most of the price declines are coming in homes under $1,000,000 and over $5,000,000. The segment of the market between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 is virtually unchanged for the year in terms of price.

On the surface these numbers look very strong to what one might expect given all the negative reports that have been in the news. Yet it is crucial to note that prices have been steadily declining since June, inventory has been building in homes priced over a million dollars and the time it takes to sell a home has also been increasing. In other words the trends are not good as we go through this Holiday season.

Here are some other interesting facts to consider:

Year over year 2008 vs. 2007 the number of homes sold in our West Los Angeles area has declined by 30%. This correlates almost perfectly with the fact that 30% less buyers are qualifying for loans in today’s market as compared to the market before the whole Countrywide Mortgage meltdown began in August 2006.

In terms of the length of time it takes to sell a home here are the facts:
Year to date it has taken 75 days on average to sell a home as compared to 66 days in 2007. 35% of the listings that sell, sell within the first 30 days of being listed. This number is down from 40+% earlier in the year. On the other hand, 22% of the listings that sell are taking 120 days or longer.

Click on the link below to download our report & statistics:

OCTOBER 2008 Micro Market Report

OCTOBER 2008 Micro Market Report - Condominiums

In this ever changing real estate landscape, knowing the statistics of the individual markets you are interested in will be crucial to making the best business decision possible. The message we have been conveying all year long is there are windows of opportunity for both buying and selling at any given time to those persons who are most informed. Our agents and clients are armed with the facts to help them navigate through these challenging and turbulent times. Feelings are not facts and what is taking place on a Macro level may be quite different to what we are experiencing locally.

The following is a summary of our August’s Micro Market Report and a comparison of those statistics to the same month last year. The numbers clearly establish the overall change in the housing market from a year ago.

Micro Markets that increased in Sales Volume Aug. 08 vs. Aug. 07: Brentwood, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica.

Micro Markets that improved in Average Median Sales Price Aug. 08 vs. Aug. 07: Brentwood, Hancock Park, Malibu, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades.

41.6% of the homes that closed in August sold within the first 30 days of being listed.

We invite you to review this report in greater detail and specifically the micro market summary for your neighborhood so you can formulate your own conclusions by clicking on the link below.

AUGUST 2008 Micro Market Report

AUGUST 2008 Micro Market Report - Condominiums

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Home sales increased 43.4 percent in July in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.3 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

“Sales improved significantly in July 2008 and remained above the 400,000 level for the third consecutive month,” said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. “Deeply-discounted, distressed sales continue to drive volume in many regions of the state. July also was the first full month during which the effects of higher $729,000 conforming loan limits likely had an impact on closed sales.

“Year-to-year increases in the number of transactions ranged from a 6.7 percent increase in the San Francisco Bay Area to a 176.5 percent increase in the Riverside/San Bernardino region,” he said. “In general, greater percentage gains occurred in lower-priced areas that had been most adversely affected by the market downturn since late 2005 and that are concurrently experiencing the biggest declines in prices.”

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 489,080 in July at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity increased 43.4 percent from the revised 341,130 sales pace recorded in July 2007. Sales in July 2008 increased 15.3 percent compared with the previous month.

The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2008 would be if sales maintained the July pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during July 2008 was $350,760, a 40.3 percent decrease from the revised $587,560 median for July 2007, C.A.R. reported. The July 2008 median price fell 4.5 percent compared with June’s revised $367,130 median price.

“Once again, the 40.3 percent year-to-year decrease in the median price of a home was an all-time record, surpassing the previous record set in June with a 37.9 percent decrease,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.

“Since the statewide median remained in the $585,000-$595,000 range through August of last year, the market will continue to experience significant year-to-year adjustments through August even if the median
price holds steady over the next few months,” she said. “The statewide median was last in the $350,000 range in early 2003.”

Highlights of C.A.R.’s resale housing figures for July 2008:

C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in July 2008 was 6.7 months, compared with 10 months (revised) for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 6.43 percent during July 2008, compared with 6.70 percent in July 2007, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.24 percent in July 2008, compared with 5.71 percent in July 2007.

The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 47.5 days in July 2008, compared with 50.7 days (revised) for the same period a year ago.

Regional MLS sales and price information are contained in the tables that accompany this press release. Regional sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales. The MLS median price and sales data for detached homes are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state. MLS median price and sales data for condominiums are based on a survey of more than 60 associations. The median price for both detached homes and condominiums represents closed escrow sales.

In a separate report covering more localized statistics generated by C.A.R. and DataQuick Information Systems, 2 percent, or 8 out of 391 cities and communities, showed an increase in their respective median home prices from a year ago. DataQuick statistics are based on county records data rather than MLS information. DataQuick Information Systems is a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. (The top 10 lists are generated for incorporated cities with a minimum of 30 recorded sales in the month.)

Note: Large changes in local median home prices typically indicate both local home price appreciation, and often, large shifts in the composition of housing market activity. Some of the variations in median home prices for July may be exaggerated due to compositional changes in housing demand. The DataQuick tables listing median home prices in California cities and counties are accessible through C.A.R. Online at http://car.org/economics/historicalprices/2008medianprices/July2008 medianprices/. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Statewide, the 10 cities with the highest median home prices in California during July 2008 were: Manhattan Beach, $1,774,727; Los Gatos, $1,425,000; Mill Valley, $1,375,000; Burlingame, $1,294,000; Calabasas,$1,188,000; Newport Beach, $1,145,000; Cupertino, $1,041,250; Rancho
Palos Verdes, $1,005,000; San Carlos, $975,000; Danville, $930,000.

Statewide, the cities with the greatest median home price increases in July 2008 compared with the same period a year ago were: Los Gatos, 36.6 percent; Mill Valley, 28.6 percent; Manhattan Beach, 9 percent; Berkeley, 8.2 percent; Mountain View, 6.9 percent; Cupertino, 1.1 percent.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 175,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Follow the link below to see the entire article including statistics:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080825005815/en
Source: CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Contacts:CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Mark Giberson, 213-739-8304
markg@car.org

This week, President Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This sweeping legislation primarily seeks to protect homeowners from foreclosure, stop declining home prices, and stabilize the mortgage industry. Major provisions of the new law affecting the real estate practice are as follows:

- SELLER NEED NOT REVEAL SSN TO BUYER UNDER FIRPTA: Effective immediately, sellers are no longer required to provide to their buyers the Seller’s Affidavit of Nonforeign Status (C.A.R. Form AS), which includes the sellers’ social security numbers, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). Instead, as another option, no federal withholding is required if the seller furnishes the Seller’s Affidavit with his or her social security number to escrow or other qualified substitute as defined, who in turn, furnishes a statement to the buyer stating, under penalty of perjury, that it has the Seller’s Affidavit in its possession. A “qualified substitute” is a person responsible for closing the transaction, such as an escrow company, title company or the buyer’s agent, but not the seller’s agent. The federal withholding law is now similar to California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) policy which allows the escrow officer to remove the seller’s tax ID number from the buyer’s copy of the California withholding tax statement, but not other copies.

- $300 BILLION IN FHA REFINANCING: Under the HOPE for Homeowners Program, 400,000 distressed homeowners can pay off their troubled mortgages and replace them with more affordable, FHA-insured loans. To qualify, a borrower’s monthly payment on existing mortgage loans must be over 31% of his or her income as of March 1, 2008 (hence demonstrating the borrower’s inability to afford the original loans). The original loans must have been originated before 2008, and secured by the borrower’s principal residence (as well as only residence). Also to qualify, the borrower must satisfy FHA underwriting requirements for the new FHA-insured refinance loan.
The FHA refinance will be a fixed rate loan up to $550,400 for at least 30 years, and will include charges for FHA insurance premiums. The maximum loan-to-value ratio of the FHA refinance is 90% of the appraised value. If the refinance proceeds are insufficient to pay off the existing liens, the refinance will not go through unless the original lenders voluntarily agree to accept a short payoff as payment in full. Rules will be established to allow, among other things, equity sharing for the original junior lienholders.
Upon obtaining the FHA refinance, the borrower must share with the FHA at least 50% of any equity realized through a subsequent sale or refinance. The FHA’s share in equity will be based on a sliding scale of 100% of any equity realized within the first year of the FHA loan, 90% the second year, and so on, but not less than 50%. The HOPE for Homeowners Program shall be in effect from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011.

- $7,500 TAX CREDIT FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS: With certain exceptions, a first-time homebuyer will receive a tax credit of 10% of the purchase price up to $7,500 maximum, for the tax year in which the buyer purchases a principal residence. The tax credit, however, must be repaid like an interest-free loan in equal installments over the next 15 years or in full if the homebuyer sells the property for a gain. A buyer qualifies as a “first-time” homebuyer as long as the buyer (and spouse if any) has not owned a principal residence in the U.S. for the last three years. The tax credit phases out for a taxpayer with a modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint returns). This tax credit is available for qualifying homes purchased from April 9, 2008 through June 30, 2009.

- FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC, AND FHA REFORM: The new law permanently sets the conforming loan limit for FHA and government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at 115% of an area’s median home price, not to exceed $625,500. The new loan limits take effect after the current $729,750 loan limit expires on December 31, 2008.
The new law also authorizes the Treasury Department to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if necessary by increasing their lines or credit or purchasing their stock. A new governmental agency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will be created to oversee GSE operations. Other FHA reform includes an increase in the minimum down payment requirement from 3% to 3.5%, and effective October 1, 2008, the elimination of seller-funded down payment assistance programs.

Some of the other provisions of the new Housing Act are, without limitation, $4 billion in assistance to stabilize neighborhoods hurt by the foreclosure crisis, $180 million for pre-foreclosure counseling, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgage reform, assistance for veterans, and the creation of a nationwide loan originator licensing and registration system. The appropriate governmental agencies will establish new regulations as needed to carry out and enforce the new Housing Act.

Realegal® is published by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a trade association representing nearly 200,000 REALTORS® statewide.

Executive offices:
525 South Virgil Ave., Los Angeles CA 90020
phone (213) 739-8200; fax (213) 480-7724

Legislative offices:
980 Ninth Street #1430, Sacramento CA 95814
phone (916) 492-5200; fax (916) 444-2033

To contact C.A.R. regarding Realegal®, click on this link:

http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MTEx

Copyright © 2008 CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)

The sales volume for June ‘08 improved over May ‘08, but for our month over month comparison of June ‘08 to June ‘07 and comparing YTD  ‘07 to ‘08 it was quite a different story. Sales volume in June ‘08 was up over May by 14% however, YTD, June ‘08 to June ‘07, sales volume was down 44%. June ‘08 to June ‘07 month over month sales volume was down 38%. During this same time only three markets performed better; Malibu Beach, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica. In reality, only Santa Monica really fared better as Malibu and Pacific Palisades had one and three sales respectively. 

Median sales prices performed differently. Seven markets actually performed better comparing the median price of properties sold from June 2007 to June 2008. They were: Beverly Hills $950,000 to $1,170,000; Brentwood  $702,000 to $739,000; Hollywood Hills East  $478,750 to    $650,000; Pacific Palisades  $706,000 to $707,000;  Silver Lake $476,000 to $595,000; Venice $1,025,000 to $1,295,000; West Hollywood $585,000 to $585,000; Westwood-Century City $689,500 to $700,000.  In eight markets’ median sales price increased in June 2008 to May 2008.

It has taken longer on average to sell a condo in 2008. The Average Days on Market to sell a condo YTD for June ‘07 was 77 days and for June ‘08 it was 102 days . Comparing month over month, June ‘07 took 64 days to sell a condo while June ‘08 has been averaging 108 days. Individual markets have different statistics. Los Feliz  averaged 198 days in ‘07 to sell a condo compared to 145 days in ‘08. Malibu Beach took 268 days in ‘08 and there was not a single sale in ‘07. In Pacific Palisades it took just 10 days in ‘07 but jumped  to 166 days in ‘08. And in Venice it took 63 days in ‘07 to 25 days in ‘08.

Active listing inventory for condominiums currently on the market year to date ‘08 is down to 710 listing from 1501 in ‘07. The number of sold listings year to date for 2008 is also down, 809 condominiums sold compared to 1511 in 2007. New listings that have come to market year to date are also down to 2240 in ‘08 from 2511 in ‘07. Expired listing increased from 153 in ‘07 to 205 in ‘08. These were listings that did not sell and the listing agreements were not renewed. More listings were withdrawn from market in 2008. These were listings that had not run the course of their listing agreement and were removed from market. 

In conclusion, the average days on market is up, median prices are stable, inventory is down 52% and sales volume is down  44%.

JUNE 2008 Micro Market Report- Condominiums

The following micro markets were up in sales activity June 08 vs. June 07: Beverly Hills, Westwood - Century City, Brentwood, Los Feliz, and Malibu Beach. In 10 of the 19 micro markets we track, sales activity was up in June 08 vs. May 08.

The median sales price across the 19 micro markets we tracked in June 08 vs. June 07 was down 10.8%, while the YTD numbers are up 4.9%. What is also very interesting is the sales price to list price ratios. On average, listings are selling at 6% off the original asking price and 4.4% off the list price at the time of sale. The following micro markets were up in terms of median sales price for the month of June 08 vs. June 07: Bel Air, Los Feliz, and Venice.

The following micro markets have experienced a YTD increase in median sales price: Beverly Hills P.O., Bel Air - Holmby Hills, Sunset Strip - Hollywood Hills West, Cheviot Hills - Rancho Park,  Venice, Santa Monica, and Hancock Park- Wilshire.

Our Conclusions:

There is actually a healthy competition for well-priced properties. The media headlines suggest inventory is swelling and buyers should be able to purchase a property from a  distressed seller or through foreclosure. These situations in our local markets are practically non-existent. In our local markets, many sellers have the financial ability to decide whether or not to sell their home in the current market environment. The big anticipated price drop many buyers had expected has simply not occurred. For a buyer, sitting on the sidelines is not without risk. While interest rates are slowly trending upward, they continue to be the silver lining in the market. With loan programs changing every day, it is very difficult to say which programs will be available, and at what cost, going forward.

Sellers are faced with the reality that the media continues to create a perception of a buyer’s market. Sellers can take heart in the  fact that buyers want to buy and multiple offers still take place for well-priced properties. Homes priced at “market value”, not feelings or false expectations, are still selling.

In summary…. Buyers and Sellers need to pay close attention to the real numbers, not just the headlines. The media’s coverage is largely based on macro trends, not on our local micro market data. Yes, we are in a different real estate environment when compared  with the market of two or three years ago. At the same time, the  market is much more balanced than the headlines indicate.

* Our report has been amended to reflect revised statistics from the MLS listing service.

JUNE 2008 Micro Market Report

Here are some highlights from our Micro Market Report:

1. The number of sales are down year over year. For the month of May that decrease was 37%. Sales volume in 11 markets we track fared better for May 2008 than April of the same year.
2. The median sales price was down year over year for the month of May by 3%. However in 10 of the 19 Micro Markets we study, the median price was actually up looking at May 08 versus May 07. The markets that were up included: Beverly Hills, Sunset Strip-Hollywood, Bel Air Holmby Hills, Brentwood, Cheviot Hills-Rancho Park, West Hollywood Vicinity, Venice, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, and Hancock Park - Wilshire.
3. The list price to sales price ratio declined 2.6% year over year looking at the May numbers. The ratio of sales price to list price was 97.9% in May 07 versus 95.3% in May 08.
4. 43.7% of all the listings that sold in the markets we are watching sold in less than 30 days in May of this year. This is a very important number. It clearly shows the importance of pricing when it comes to selling a home. It also shows that good homes at the right price are still selling quickly and in some cases in multiple offers. There is still demand in the market for good homes at the right price.

As a buyer in today’s market you are probably not going to get the “deal” you are hoping for based on the headlines you are reading. Prices are firmer than the media reports would lead you to believe. Buyers who anticipate further declines in the market run the risk of higher interest rates and more restrictive lending practices. No one has the ability to predict the market. Many buyers who were hoping for lower prices are now locked out of the market because they can not get the loans that were available to them a year ago or prices have not dropped as much as they had hoped. There is always a risk in waiting.

For sellers, the lesson of this market is price. Homes are still selling and selling quickly, however the market is extremely price sensitive. The only people who should be putting their homes on the market right now are those individuals who absolutely want to sell. If you need to get a certain price for your home, now is not the best time to be on the market. Please know there is no news on the horizon that points to higher prices in the short term and therefore sellers should not have any false expectations around receiving higher prices than the market will bear.

MAY 2008 Micro Market Report

April’s closed sales volume is the aftermath of the slow flow of new transactions from February and March. Escrows are averaging 30 to 60 days to close.

Open House Activity is very strong as the mood and confidence of buyers improve. Positive media outlooks, including upbeat forecasts from Warren Buffet and The Wall Street Journal, about the improving sub prime markets and the housing markets are a refreshing respite from all of the negative news articles that have been published over the past many months.

Sellers are beginning to enter the market at market value and/or are reducing listing prices until market value is found.

Financing is still tough and is still the major obstacle for buyers and sellers to close a transaction. Many lenders are acting gun shy by pricing themselves out of the market or seeking appraisals below the contracted price between a buyer and seller. Local lenders, however, are taking advantage of the opportunity by providing portfolio loans to qualified borrowers, but demand is outstripping supply and the queue for approval is long.

First time buyers are back in the market. This is good news for the middle of the market as this will give those sellers the opportunity to move up to a new home. The top of the market is still very strong and oblivious to the economy or financial markets. If these buyers want a property, they buy it. We think they know something about real estate as an investment.

Improved values are driving multiple offers on existing inventories and we have participated or managed transactions with as many as 13 offers.

Inventory is still low in many markets. Sellers are waiting for the market to stabilize before placing their property on the market.

Now for some specific observations:
The sales volume in 10 out 20 markets we track had a better April than March in 2008. Santa Monica’s April sales volume doubled its March volume.

However, only 4 out of 20 markets had improved sales volume for April ‘08 compared to April ‘07.

Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office and Brentwood, which were our best performing markets for the year, took the brunt of the lower sales volume in April.
Bel Air bucked the trend and had a stronger April compared to the previous year.

Cheviot Hills / Rancho Park continues in its steady sales volume and Venice made a strong comeback by tripling sales volume compared to March ‘08 and nearly matching April ‘07.

Hancock Park continues to perform well, matching previous sales history. As traffic congestion tightens on the Westside, the Hancock Park market improves.

Median Prices improved for 13 out of 20 markets in April over March for ‘08. Only 6 markets improved for April ‘08 compared to April ‘07.

Sunset Strip improved to a median price of $1,740,000 for the month of April compared to $1,539,00 for April ‘07 and $1,475,000 for March ‘08.

Cheviot Hills / Rancho Park enjoyed a median price of $1,645,000 compared to $1,600,000 for the same month the previous year and $1,417,000 for the month of March this year.

Venice surged to $1,200,000 from $969,000.

Hollywood Hills East fared very well at $1,169,000 compared to $1,080,000 for the same month the previous year and $765,000 for March of this year.

Please use the link below to obtain the information you need for your particular market.

APRIL 2008 Micro Market Report

The Wall Street Journal

May 20, 2008

POCKETS OF STRENGTH

Where Home Prices Are Holding Up
By JEFF D. OPDYKE
May 20, 2008; Page D1

Downtown: It’s been among the safest places to hide from the housing downturn.

Much has been made of the way the nation’s real-estate bust is affecting some American cities far more than others. But even within a single metro area, changes in housing prices can show wild variations.

And in big cities, prices in the central cores often fare the best. Far-flung suburbs — where home building exploded in recent years — have more typically gotten hammered. In between is a patchwork of established suburbs and city neighborhoods peripheral to downtown that can be all over the map in terms of price declines — or even increases.

Consider the San Francisco Bay area. Overall, prices there slid 17% in the 12 months through February, the most-recent data available, and were down 8% over the first two months of 2008 alone, making it one of the worst-performing metro areas in the country, according to the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices. Yet prices within the city of San Francisco are up 0.3% over the first quarter of 2008, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a San Diego-based real-estate-data firm.

For today’s buyers, all this means that shopping for housing bargains is increasingly complicated. The best deals may be where prices have slid the most, but such areas could easily fall a good bit more before hitting bottom. Meanwhile, you’ll get few bargains if you buy a home in San Francisco or Manhattan or downtown Boston. Of course, if the housing crisis broadens, the central core areas also could see price drops.
HOME BUYING STRATEGIES

Housing blog: Discuss strategies for buying a home in the shaky market.2

Here’s a cheat sheet to understanding home-price patterns in some of the country’s biggest metro areas.

Chicago

It’s a mixed picture in Chicago’s downtown area. A flurry of condominium building has kept prices down on much new construction. At the same time, some established apartment buildings are still seeing buoyant prices, even as properties spend more time on the market. The Carlyle, a 1960s-era glass-and-concrete tower along the city’s prized Gold Coast neighborhood, recorded the highest price ever — $2.4 million — for one of its “C”-tier units earlier this year, for example.

Jim Kinney, president of Rubloff Residential Properties in Chicago, says “80% to 90% of the buildings along the Gold Coast achieved a record sales price in the last year.” The older buildings are often in blue-chip locations and are generally cheaper, per square foot, than new units.

Bargains abound in Chicago’s periphery. Seven miles south of the Carlyle is Bronzeville, a gentrifying community that during the housing boom was a favorite of buyers who couldn’t afford Chicago’s glitzier core. Just last month, a bank that owns a foreclosed duplex in Bronzeville dropped the asking price to just $85,000, from the January listing price of $129,900. The owners who lost the property originally paid $330,000 in November 2005, about a year before the Chicago market peaked.

But beware: Prices may be stagnant or worse for a long time to come. “Because of the huge inventory, it will take years to recover,” says Christina Miller, a Rubloff agent, citing periphery neighborhoods such as Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village and Bucktown.

Chicago’s desirable North Shore suburbs are, for the most part, doing well. Median prices in Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka, all hugging Lake Michigan’s shoreline, are up over the past year to varying degrees, though sales volume is down sharply, according to a Zip Code analysis by DataQuick. Sellers are receiving about 89% of the list price, according to March data from the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors. That’s down from about 95% at the peak of the market.

In upscale Highland Park, about 25 miles north of downtown, prices are down more than 6%. But that average is being skewed by a high number of sales of low-end homes, some forced by foreclosure.

New York

While New York’s commuter market — which includes suburban New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — is down about 8% from its peak in mid-2006, much of Manhattan continues humming along. Neighborhoods such as SoHo, the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Murray Hill, the Upper West Side and Harlem are all up in the past year, according to DataQuick’s Zip Code analysis.

Bidding wars still happen. Toni Haber, an executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman, a New York City real-estate firm, says 60 people waited in line recently at an open house to view a three-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. The owner had four competing offers within the week, and agreed to sell for about $2.5 million — $300,000 over the asking price.

Part of the city’s strength comes from the fact that few buyers were investing in properties to flip them. Moreover, many apartment buildings in New York aren’t condominiums but co-ops, which impose financial demands on potential buyers far more rigorous than banks do — which helps keep the number of foreclosures down. In addition, foreign investors have been exploiting the weak dollar by grabbing Manhattan real estate.

One area of weakness: the Financial District in Lower Manhattan, where median prices are down, in part because of an abundance of new construction in the area.

Those areas of Brooklyn that are close to Manhattan are also holding up well. On the periphery, places like Jamaica, Queens; parts of the Bronx; and nearby New Jersey towns such as Jersey City and Hoboken are off between 3% and 14%.

Farther out, popular commuter towns like Summit and New Providence, N.J., are down at much as 16%. Pockets of suburban strength do exist, though. High-end suburbs in New York’s Westchester County such as Chappaqua are up over the past year.

Boston

Michael DiMella, managing partner at Charlesgate Realty Group, recently sold a one-bedroom condo in Boston’s South End district for $365,000, roughly $100,000 more than the owners originally paid in 2000 and about what they could have expected at the peak of the Boston real-estate market in late 2005. But the condo sat on the market for nearly four months before a buyer came along.

That sale typifies many parts of core Boston these days: flat to modestly higher prices but a longer time to sell. Prices in the city’s core are off less than 1% over the past year, according to first-quarter data from Listing Information Network, Boston’s MLS system. The real difference today is that homes are staying on the market for 111 days on average, up from 85 days in 2005.

Prices in key neighborhoods, such as Back Bay, the South End, Fenway and the Waterfront, are all up between 3% and 10%. Beacon Hill and the North End, however, are down sharply, as much as 33%. That’s partly the result of a slew of high-end properties that hit the market in 2006 and 2007 that were priced as high as $1.5 million, skewing the price data upward. Even without those sales, however, the median price would be down by double-digit amounts.

“No one is taking prices higher these days just to see if they can get it, like they used to,” Mr. DiMella says of Boston’s downtown core. “But you have to come with realistic expectations. This is a highly desirable area, and you’re not going to find a steal.”

Nearby communities are a mixed bag. Condos in suburban Brookline, one of the most desirable Zip Codes — 02445 — are down about 8%, while neighboring 02446 is up nearly 7%, for example. Among city neighborhoods, Dorchester is down across the board by as much as 25%, yet Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury are each up between 7% and 9%.

San Francisco

“I get buyers who come in thinking they’re going to get a real bargain these days because prices are down all over the country, and we just laugh,” says Caroline Werboff, an agent with San Francisco real-estate firm Hill & Co.

People want to live in San Francisco’s urban core. Median prices around the Financial District, North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Russian Hill are up — in some case strongly.

Ms. Werboff says a Russian Hill home that sold for $7.7 million in April 2004 sold again in February for $10.3 million. A newly listed house in Pacific Heights, another core neighborhood with strong price appreciation, sold three years ago for $6 million. Ms. Werboff says that the owners “will get $10 million now.”

Still, some San Francisco neighborhoods are down, particularly along the edges of the city, such as Portola, Bayview, Hunters Point and Sunset. Edward Leamer, director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, an economic research center at the University of California Los Angeles, warns that “the housing problems won’t bypass San Francisco proper. The decline will just take more time.”

Meanwhile, both closer-in and distant suburbs are weak, too, often markedly so. On the periphery, San Mateo County and high-end Marin County are doing the best, both down more than 4% between March 2007 and 2008, according to DataQuick. Alameda and Contra Costa, across San Francisco Bay from the city and chockablock with anonymous tract housing, are down 18% and 27%, respectively. Bargains exist, but with so much inventory, prices aren’t expected to rebound quickly.

Santa Clara County, home to Silicon Valley, is down more than 9%, though pockets of strength exist in communities such Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Los Altos. Napa County, meanwhile, is one of the weakest in the region, with median prices off more than 20%.

Los Angeles

L.A. is an anomaly. No real urban core exists. The area is just a sprawling string of suburbs that run together.

And most of that sprawl is bathed in red ink. Median prices in communities throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the distant, inland suburbs that are at the epicenter of the region’s subprime and foreclosure crises — are down, often sharply.

Lower-priced homes in tony Palm Springs have lost about 24%, though more-expensive homes are up slightly. Less-affluent cities such as Ontario, Chino and Rancho Cucamonga are all down between 15% and 31%. Los Angeles County, Orange County to the south and Ventura County to the north are suffering equally.

The only notable area of strength: high-end real estate. L.A.’s Westside, home to affluent neighborhoods such as Brentwood and Westwood, “tends to be more insulated because this is where people with money want to be,” says Madison Offenhauser, regional director in Los Angeles for Keller Williams Realty.

Median prices in Brentwood are up 16%. The Hollywood Hills, up 26% to a median price of more than $2.1 million. Rancho Palos Verdes and the Palos Verdes peninsula, up 17%. Parts of Newport Beach, one of Orange County’s poshest addresses, are up as much as 67% to $2.75 million. The coastal village of Laguna Beach is up 6%.

Lee Ann Canaday, owner of the Canaday Group, a Laguna Beach real-estate firm, says “almost every deal I’ve done this year” in Laguna and Newport Beach has had multiple offers.

Write to Jeff D. Opdyke at jeff.opdyke@wsj.com3
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