In recent weeks, housing news has again turned relentlessly grim. It all started with the end of the Federal Tax Credit.  Now it didn’t come as some great surprise to me that consumers pulled back once the tax credit expired. With the need for urgency removed, I fully expected a lull in homebuyer activity and sure enough that is what happened.

Big media have pounded hard on the “slow down” theme, driving it home until most people are scared half to death.

Where are we, really?

Californians might be surprised. It's a little better than you might think, especially if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I take’s a job to make a mortgage payment and the Bay Area has some of the lowest employment rates in the state.  Marin County has the lowest unemployment in the state, followed by San Mateo County, San Francisco is 6th lowest and Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties are well below the state unemployment rate of 12.8%.

California housing inventory stood at 5.8 months in July and nationally the supply of homes on the market was 12.5 months.

As of July 2010 San Mateo County housing inventory was 3.2 months, while San Francisco had a 5.8 months supply of homes for sale.  The inventory in Santa Clara County stood at months 2.7 months, Alameda County was 2.7 and Contra Costa County stood at 2.55 months.  Click the links for the full Bay Area Report. Compared with the National and State Statistics, the bay area is recovering much quicker than the media is suggesting. With the coplexity of today's real estate and mrotgage markets you will benefit from the advice and guidance of an experianced and knowledgeable professional. Just text, call or email me for a prompt response.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I invite you to take a look at our Resource Center, www.AboutBayAreaHomes.com. There you will find links for active home listings, including bank owned and short sales, home loan information,  market activity reports, home seller strategies, staging and decorating, a suite of 19 calculators, plus my book, “Let’s Make a Deal, The Insiders Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate” and more.

Russ Boyd and his team professionally assist buyers, sellers and homeowners in the Peninsula Communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. They serve clients in San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Licensed as a Real Estate Broker by the California Department of Real Estate, 01264240. National Mortgage License Registry 230411.