The number of San Francisco pre foreclosure homes set prices by zip codes as the increase in home prices varied by zip codes from the period November 2009 to February 2010 depending on the intensity of foreclosure activity and pace of home sales within the zip codes.
Based on studies of home prices by research firm Clear Capital, the trends in home prices varied by zip codes. Clear Capital studied home prices during the peak in the middle of 2006, the four-month period ended February 2009, and the four-month period ended February 2010. It included studies of available single-family homes and townhouses for sale and the price effects of foreclosures in San Francisco.
The studies found that home prices dropped by the biggest rates in the outlying lower-cost areas. Prices in these areas, such as Vallejo, Richmond, Antioch and Vacaville, fell from about $300 per square foot during the peak to about $120 per square foot in February this year.
The number of San Francisco pre foreclosure homes rose in these lower-cost areas more quickly than in others as many borrowers were first time buyers who used subprime mortgage loans. When the market fell, foreclosures surged fast, cutting down prices steeply.
Home prices did not fall steeply in coastal areas, such as Cupertino, San Francisco, Lafayette and Milbrae. Prices dropped only slightly from more than $600 per square foot during the boom to just below $600 in February this year.
Over the past 12 months, the drop in home prices slowed down both in lower-cost and higher-cost areas. Among the 181 zip codes studied, 75 zip codes experienced year-over-year increases and 104 posted price decreases at rates generally much lower than price drops in other areas.
The studies also found that house prices are still dropping in certain higher-end areas. Among the 20 zip codes where home prices declined by double digits, 13 were higher-cost areas, including Moraga, Walnut Creek, Los Gatos and Belvedere-Tiburon.
However, some affluent zip codes posted double-digit price increases over the past 12 months, including San Rafael and San Anselmo. There are zip codes which never experienced price decreases. These are 94117 of San Francisco, which includes Ashbury Heights, Cole Valley, Berkeley and Sunnyvale.
The area which has experienced some of the highest numbers of San Francisco pre foreclosure homes in the Bay Area was 94801 of Richmond. Foreclosures in this zip code accounted for 85 percent of all home sales in the first months of 2009.