High End Prices: Still coming down

Total sales volume of high end homes in 2009 has made up of only 2% of sales v. 4.4% in 2008.

In 2008, 40% of buyers were move up buyers, thus far in 2009, only 15% are move up buyers. I believe this more reflects a surge in volume in the low end rather then a significant slow down in the high end. That being said the high end is slower – the data…

Average days on market for luxury homes in the Bay Area is up 67%. In the SF Bay Area there is approximately 18 months of inventory for sale in the high end. This means if you have a home that equates to high-end/luxury in your market you can expect it to take 18 months to sell.

Pricing in the high end is down from 5% to 25% depending on location.

The good news for buyers/not good news for sellers, The Wall St Journal recently published an article quoting a JPMorgan analyst saying that high end real estate could fall as much as 60% off its high and that they do not expect a rebound until 2013. No doubt the U.S. Government will do all it can to bolster the high end and prevent this from happening however this being in print alone may put pressure on the high end – as you are well aware the media has a way of driving consumer sentiment.

Questions? email me, Tracy Pina