California Tops Regions Where Homes Sell Most Over List Price, While Florida Still Languishes, According to ZipRealty’s Q2 “Home Hunter Report”

Tax credit and low inventory spurred activity in California

EMERYVILLE, CA – July 26, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — 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 today by ZipRealty (ZIPR).

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.

Other highlights from the ZipRealty Q2 2010 Home Hunter Report (http://www.ziprealty.com/whitepaper/homehunterreport/secondquarter2010.pdf) include:

* Berkeley, California’s 94703 is the country’s “hottest” ZIP code, with homes selling on average for almost eight percent 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 percent 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. See the chart below for the full list of the country’s ten hottest ZIP codes.
* 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 percent below asking price in Q2 of this year, as compared to an average of 22 percent 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 percent 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.”

Hottest/Coldest ZIP Codes by Sale-to-List Price Trends

The country’s ten hottest ZIP codes – those with the highest sales-to-list-price ratios – include the following:

The country’s coldest ZIP codes – those with the lowest sales-to-list-price ratios – include the following:

A sampling of the highest and lowest sales-to-list price ratios in several ZipRealty markets include the following:

  Hot and cold ZIP codes for all 33 markets that ZipRealty tracks in this report are available here: http://www.ziprealty.com/whitepaper/homehunterreport/secondquarter2010.pdf.

 Phoenix is Nation’s Most Popular City for Home Hunters

According to the total number of home searches on www.ZipRealty.com throughout Q2, the Phoenix area remains the most popular city searched for the seventh straight quarter. Phoenix proper and its suburbs, including Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, Glendale and Tempe, claimed seven of the top 10 most searched cities.

Markets with distressed properties, including cities in Las Vegas and Florida, joined Phoenix for most popular cities searched by home seekers on ZipRealty.com.

For more information about the most highly searched cities for home hunters in Q2 2010, please see the full report: http://www.ziprealty.com/whitepaper/homehunterreport/secondquarter2010.pdf.

About the Report

Each quarter, ZipRealty compiles real estate listing and sales data from the Multiple Listing Services offered in 33 of the 35 major U.S. metropolitan areas in which the real estate brokerage operates. The data pulled and cited within this report is for the first quarter of 2010, beginning April 1 through June 30, 2010.

This report is intended to convey information on the general market conditions where ZipRealty operates, not on ZipRealty’s operating results. ZipRealty’s operating results may be materially different from the general trends shown in this report. Please do not draw any conclusions about ZipRealty’s operating results based on the information contained in this report but instead refer to ZipRealty’s earnings releases and periodic reports as they are made public.

About ZipRealty, Inc.

ZipRealty is a full-service residential real estate brokerage firm. The Company utilizes its user-friendly website and employee real estate agents to provide home buyers and sellers with high-quality service and value. ZipRealty’s website provides users with access to comprehensive local Multiple Listing Services’ home listings data, as well as other relevant market and neighborhood information. The Company’s proprietary business management system and technology platform help to reduce costs, allowing the Company to pass on significant savings to consumers. Founded in 1999, the company operates in 35 major markets in 22 states and the District of Columbia. For more information on ZipRealty, visit www.ziprealty.com or call 1-800-CALL-ZIP.

Contact:
Katie Clark
Allison & Partners
415-277-4923
ziprealty (at) allisonpr (dot) com

John Oldham
ZipRealty
510-735-2805
joldham (at) ziprealty (dot) com