A large city in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, California, is in the San Francisco Bay area and is home to a population of more than 100,000. Many of its residents are employed in high-term firms in Silicon Valley and because of this, the city has a moderately high income level, with annual median household income measured at more than $75,000 in 2007. Unsurprisingly, home prices here are higher than the national average, though by the high-priced region’s standards,  Santa Clara real estate is actually quite affordable.

According to statistics compiled by the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, thus far 2010 has shown to be a positive year for the market in Santa Clara. In the first quarter of the year, which includes January, February and March, there were 181 new Santa Clara homes for sale on top of a current inventory of 128, down compared with an inventory during the first quarter of 2009 of 201. There were 92 sales of single-family homes in the first quarter, up a healthy number from one year ago, when the quarter counted only 74 sales, and the number of days on the market improved drastically as well, at an average of 42 days in this year’s first quarter from 102 days a year ago. Santa Clara’s market even showed positive improvements in pricing, both average and median, an area where many markets are still showing signs of struggle. The average price in the first quarter was over $585,500, up more than $25,000 from last year, while the median was $574,600, an improvement of more than $40,000 year-over-year.

The condo market showed similar signs. There were 140 new condos listed for sale in Santa Clara in the first quarter of the year, on top of an inventory of 120, which actually is more than were on the market last year, when inventory was 112 with 93 new listings in the first quarter. There was a big bounce in the sales volume, however, with 58 condos sold in the first quarter, up from just 31 last year. The average number of days on the market dropped slightly as well, down to just 75 days on average from 89. Prices for condos, however, unlike prices of homes, did not show improvement but rather fell. The average price in this year’s first quarter was just over $388,000, down from more than $415,000 last year, and the median price fell from $400,000 to just over $366,000. http://www.sccaor.com/143.0.html

A city of nearly 200,000 on the coastal beaches of the famed Orange County, Huntington Beach, California, is renowned for its more than 8-mile long beach, a popular attraction for surfers from all over the world. The city’s median household income was estimated in 2007 to be above $80,000, and housing prices are generally quite high. The Huntington Beach real estate market saw a slide beginning in late 2008 when the credit crisis began to plague the U.S., and as the country’s real estate bubbles began to pop, Huntington Beach saw its values plummet as well.

Since the onset of the recession, the market here has seen many fluctuations, rising and falling like the waves that crash upon its shore. For the month of February, according to the Orange County Register’s Zip Code Chart available on DQ News, two of Huntington Beach’s four Zip codes saw the median sales price for homes rise, while two fell compared with the same figures from one year ago. The two area’s that saw drops in prices ended up with median prices of $690,000, down just 2.5%, and $512,500, down just 4.2%. The improved markets saw prices of $550,000, up 3.8%, and $539,000, up a significant 24.9%. Sales volume in February fell in all but one Zip code, with falls ranging from 12% to 18%. The one market that saw activity rise saw 18 sales, a 12.5% increase year-over-year.

More recent figures suggest more improvements in 2010 among the market for Huntington Beach homes for sale. According to the OC Register, in the three-week period ending March 25, prices were up in three of Huntington Beach’s four Zip codes, and sales activity was up year-over-year in two areas. The median prices ranged from $449,250 (an increase of 2.1%) to $820,000 (a 6.1% increase). Sales volume ranged from 15 homes sold in the lowest-activity Zip code (which accounted for a full 50% drop from the previous year) to as many as 51 homes sold in the busiest Zip code, an increase of 4.1% from 2009.

The community still faces a serious problem of foreclosures, with the OC Register reporting that 57% of the 343 Huntington Beach properties in escrow in March were distressed homes. Additionally, 20% of homes sold in March were in foreclosure or a short sale, while 8% were bank-owned homes. In March, there were 329 homes listed for sale, ranging from $399,000 to $5.95 million, and 223 condos, ranging from $129,100 to $1.39 million.

The market for real estate in Auburn, California, in the northern inland area just northeast of Sacramento, has continued to suffer throughout 2009. After the financial crisis hit the U.S., many markets nationwide suffered setbacks, seeing prices fall and listings and foreclosures rise, with many unable to sell their homes for what was owed on them.

One slightly positive sign in the Auburn real estate market that showed up in January 2010 was a drop in listings. As of Jan. 18, there were 169 Auburn homes for sale on the market. This figure is down from more than 220 home for sale in the area in September 2009, showing that some of the excess inventory may have finally cleared out. Of these homes for sale, 13 were bank-owned and 55 were active short sales.

The range of homes currently on the market stretches from as little as $143,500 up to $2.5 million. In January, the median asking price for homes on the market was $379,950, down more than 8% from September 2009, when that figure was $415,000. The average price was also down, though at a lesser clip of 2.3%. In January, it was at over $510,000 from more than $522,000 in September. The price per square foot in January had fallen nearly 4% from September, to about $200 per square foot.

In the last quarter of the year in 2009, there were 73 homes sold in Auburn. This was a drop of more than 17% from the third quarter, when there were 88 homes sold. The average sale price in the fourth quarter showed signs of slow stabilization: It was just over $326,000 versus over $332,500 in the third quarter, a drop of almost 2%. Median sales prices fell too, though at a slower rate of just 0.3%, from $300,000 to $299,000. The average number of days on the market in Auburn increased in the fourth quarter too, when it was 121 days, versus just 103 days in the third quarter.

The Boston area is one of the East Coast’s largest cities and thus it has a higher-priced and busy real estate market. Since the beginning of the financial crisis, however, Boston real estate has seen the effects that so many others have felt: falling home values, rising foreclosures and stockpiling inventory.

According to the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, in the third quarter of 2009, which ended Sept. 30, the city saw prices remaining low. Single-family homes in the city in the third quarter had a median price of $355,000, down from $369,500 at the same time last year, down 3.9%. Homes for sale in Boston spent an average of 100 days on the market before selling, virtually unchanged from 2008, when that figure was 101.

Likewise, condos in Boston continue to show real estate in Boston in a bit of a slump. There were 1,238 condos sold in the third quarter this year, down 1.1% from 2008. The median price stood at $355,000 off by 4.1% from 2008’s median price of $370,000. Average days condos spent on the market has even risen, up to 102 from 99.

According to the Boston Globe, home prices throughout the state of Massachusetts fell 2.6% in October, and condo prices fell 4%. Despite some seemingly negative signs and low values, however, the Globe reports that Boston prices are only down 3.3% from 2008, giving it one of the better performances of major metro cities in the Case-Shiller Index.

Communities throughout North Virginia are continuing to experience slow real estate markets as a result of the recession that began in the fall of 2008.  Although real estate markets in North Virginia have remained stable, with only slight declines in the past months, most markets are still experiencing very little real estate activity, with many realtors and associated businesses making desperate measures to jump-start the real estate market.  Commercial real estate markets are also maintaining fairly low vacancy rates, but very little commercial real estate activity has taken place in the past months.  Although declines have slowed, many experts are still unsure whether North Virginia real estate markets have truly hit bottom and are poised for the rebound sometime in early 2010.

The Daily Progress newspaper in Charlottesville, North Virginia, has reported that despite little commercial real estate activity taking place in the community, Charlottesville has been able to maintain a stable commercial real estate market with relatively low vacancy rates.  Nevertheless, when vacancies are created, landlords are still having trouble finding new tenants to take the newly created vacancy.  Circuit City, one of the major retail store anchors in the Albemarle Square mall remains empty since Circuit City’s closure last year.  Retail stores make up a large portion of the commercial real estate market in Charlottesville, yet many real estate experts are worried that many stores are in jeopardy of closures due to the recent lack of consumer spending in the region.  Surveys have reported that consumer spending in North Virginia is significantly lower than the national average.  Many experts are worried that this may pose a major problem for the stability of the commercial real estate in North Virginia.

The Alexandria Times has also reported the evident struggles in many North Virginia real estate markets, despite stability over the past months.  Real estate levels in the city of Alexandria haven’t declined significantly over the past months, but real estate activity still remains fairly sluggish.  The Alexandria Times has reported that many local realtors are reporting financial struggles in their own businesses, and many realtors in Alexandria are even resorting to creating partnerships with local businesses to promote real estate activity.  A local car dealership in Alexandria recently promoted a August special where a car buyer would be awarded a 3-bedroom rambler with the purchase of the car.  Many realtors are also moving from listing the time it takes to sell a home from DOM (days-on-the-market) to MOM (months-on-the-market) and sometimes YOM (years-on-the-market).  Many experts are attributing the sluggish activity to high interest rates and high tax property taxes.

Savannah homes for sale continue to see their market prices dropping in a trend that is beneficial to potential homebuyers but detrimental to people looking to sell their prime pieces of Savannah real estate in the current market.  As a result of the global recession that has hurt the national real estate market for dozens of months on end, analysts expect that the area’s home prices will continue to plummet as long as the nation continues further into recession.  Adam Van Brimmer of the Savannah Morning News wrote on November 15, 2009, that “local sales dipped below 300 homes in October for the first time since February.”

However, a glimmer of hope created by the extended government income tax credit incentive may be the change necessary to turn around the Savannah real estate market.  Combined with new Georgia incentives, “move-up buyers now can get $8,300 in tax credits (the state offers $1,800) at mortgage rates near five percent on homes priced at their lowest levels since the slump began. List prices in many Savannah neighborhoods are 10 percent below what they were in the spring.”  However, even Savannah’s most prestigious has not managed to escape harm from the slumping economy.  West Chatham, the area’s top-selling locale, “posted an average sales price of $167,180, down from $194,565 in September, despite steady sales activity.”

Real estate in Savannah has seen some positive growth, according to recent statistics and figures released by Yahoo! Real Estate on November 15, 2009.  While the price of new homes and homes for sale remained even with previous months, foreclosed properties jumped to a median of $116,800, an increase of almost two percent from the previous month.  More interesting is the constant increase of market valuation in the Savannah area.  Looking over the last year since November 2008, the value of properties in Savannah rose from about $125,000 in 2008 to almost $129,000 today.

While property and real estate on Kauai may be expensive these days, the value of such land is far above the list price of most homes.  As one of the more popular islands in Hawaii, Kauai has been able to maintain its old ways, quiet towns, lazy weekends, and serene beaches at a time when increasing urbanization has transformed many Oahu and Maui beaches into concrete villages.  Some of the most popular attractions in Hawaii are situated on Kauai, namely Alakai Wilderness Area, Allerton Garden, Bell stone, Camp Naue YMCA, Fern Grotto, Hanalei Bay, Iraivan temple, Ke’e Beach, Koke’e State Park, Limahuli Garden and Preserve, McBryde Garden, Makeleha Mountains, Moir Gardens, Moloaa Bay, Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, Na Pali Coast State Park, Polihale State Park, ‘Opaeka’a Falls, Sleeping Giant (Nounou Mountain), Spouting Horn, Wailua River, Waimea Canyon, and Princeville North Shore.  No where else in Hawaii can one find the sprawling, deserted white sand beaches as you can on Kauai.

No where else can one find so many mom and pop convenience stores.  No where else can so much adventure and so many recreational activities be free, thanks to mother nature.  The shear beauty of the island has allowed Kauai to become one of the best places to live – not only because of its pristine properties but also because of its beauty in and of itself.