It’s not surprising that home values in some neighborhoods of Orinda and Lafayette rose slightly, according to a Contra Costa Times story  that found overall home prices in the East Bay have dropped a lot. What may  be surprising to some people is that parts of Fremont, specifically the Weibel and Vineyards-Avalon neighborhoods,  also saw slight gains from the first to second quarter of 2008.   Over the years,  lots of million-dollar homes have sprung up in Fremont, a place that draws them in part because of the city’s good schools. For example, the median home value $1,276,061 in the second quarter for a home in Fremont’s Vineyard-Avalon neighborhood.  

    Home values in the East Bay eroded at a faster rate during the spring than they did in the early months of 2008, an ominous hint that the housing market has yet to escape from a financial quagmire whose depths remain unplumbed.

During the second quarter of 2008, home values plunged on a year-to-year basis by 25.6 percent in Contra Costa County, and by 18.9 percent in Alameda County, according to a new report released Tuesday by Zillow.com, an online real estate community. The fortunes of East Bay communities varied widely, ranging from a 38 percent decline in part of Antioch to a nearly 2 percent increase in an Oakland hills neighborhood.

Nationwide, second-quarter home values fell by an average of 9.9 percent from the year before.

“There is definitely no bottom yet for prices,” said Dan Hamilton, director of the Santa Barbara-based USCB Economic Forecast Project. “This is not going to improve any time soon, probably not in 2008, anyway.”

When the homes sales market started to sink, apartment rentals saw gains as fewer people were able to swing a mortgage. Now a Reuters story is asking whether landlords and investors in the apartment sector could be looking at hard times due to rising unemployment rates.  Of course, the flip side of that could be lower rents.

The U.S. housing market’s life-support status for the past few years has helped reinvigorate the apartment sector, as tougher mortgage requirements helped landlords retain tenants, while the growing job market kept renters on the move.

But like the U.S. housing market, the U.S. apartment sector — and its investors — could soon find itself pining for days long gone.

Despite posting significant profits in the second quarter, most apartment companies have warned that the second half of 2008 won’t be so rosy.

“The collapse of the housing market has meant that there are fewer people leaving apartments to go buy homes,” said UBS analyst Alexander Goldfarb. “That sort of helped the back door. What comes in the front door is driven by jobs. Jobs and rent are highly correlative.”

 Media news photo of Oakley apartment buiding.

It doesn’t hurt to negotiate when it comes to commissions paid to Realtors, according to an Associated Press story. Trouble is, most people don’t bother. 

Don’t be shy about haggling over what you pay your real estate agent.

A study released Monday by Consumer Reports found 71 percent of sellers who negotiated for lower commissions with their brokers were successful. But only 46 percent of sellers surveyed tried.

Those who paid commissions of 3 percent were just as satisfied with their broker’s performance as those who paid 6 percent, the study found.

The lesson? Haggling won’t hurt.

Leave a comment to tell us if negotiation has worked for you.

Photo provided by Flickr user Aleutia under Creative Commons license

Don’t get too excited, folks, it’s a $250,000, but you can probably afford more than you think. So let’s get started.

In Alameda County, you can get this three-bedroom, one-bath house in Hayward. It’s been on the market two weeks and hasn’t been reduced, so the sellers are probably still optimistic. The 1,046-square-foot house originally sold for $515,000 on July 15, 2005, so we’re at more than the halfway point. The interior isn’t bad and the exterior actually looks like it’s not a foreclosure nightmare. Don’t ask me about the neighborhood, though, I have no idea.

You can also buy this three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath in Brentwood which has been on the market for the last two months. It’s 1,158 square feet and has laminate floors and an outdoor kitchen/barbecue and paved patio. It’s not bad, especially for the price. I’m not as much into the tract housing, but this one was built in 2000, so you may or may not have fewer problems than older homes. I’m kind of surprised there are three bedrooms and more than two bathrooms in a home less than 1,200 feet. I guess it really uses every bit of space.

 It’s $250,000 and it’s San Mateo County, so you know East Palo Alto would be in the mix. And here she is, a 950-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bath vision in lavendar which sold for Feb. 9, 2006 for $579,000 . You know it’s got to be bad when the agent only seems to have this to say about the property, “15 miles north of san jose. 25 miles south of san francisco.” I don’t know what that really means, because you’re still in East Palo Alto, but I guess you could always drive away from it. It’s been reduced from $300,000 earlier this month and the photos of the interior aren’t very promising … but you have to love the color!

I first saw this and reminded me of a tiara, so I call it the tiara house — but it’s in Rio Vista and nobody wears very many tiaras there. Tank tops and denim shorts . . . that’s a different story. Anyway, the house was also built in 2000, four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, 1859 square feet and actually pretty cute. The only problem? Probably Highway 12, not known for its easygoing or safe drivers. It’s been on the market for a month. $134 a square foot.

OK, I’ve been Debbie Downer lately, so we are introducing a new feature: Price Check! Where we pick an arbitrary price and see what one can buy, preferably the least skanky. Feel free to suggest your own prices, since mine will be boring and ending in 000s. Onward:

There were many, many homes in Richmond, Oakland and Antioch. Really, you can have your pick of many kinds of architecture, lots and styles. But no way! No house is $300,000 on the Peninsula, because there prices are always golden! Of course, there is. There’s this tiny, 600-square-foot house in Redwood City where you can walk to Costco. Price has been reduced from $345,900 to $305,900 over the last four months. Don’t be afraid to bargain!

There’s this house in old Livermore, which looks a bit dreary and depressing but has a surprisingly updated kitchen, and its seller is asking $304,900. (They can’t all end in the 000s.) The 1,034-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bath home is a on a decent-sized lot and is probably a shorter drive to the Bay Area than Tracy. So that’s something to think on when you pump your car full of gasoline at $4 a gallon.

In Pittsburg, your $300,000 will buy you a 1,837-square-foot, two-story home in a gated community. It has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths and attached garage. The price was reduced from $475,000 in March to its present price in the last 56 days it’s been on the market. For those who like newer homes, this 2004 model, could be what you’re looking for (and complete with $128 HOA fees.) And how can you go wrong with an agent named Lucky Chan!