The Anaheim real estate market, which depends heavily on and reflects the larger Orange County real estate market, continued to improve slightly in recent months. According to an April 13, 2010 article in OCLNN, “The Orange County housing market continues to slowly improve, with an increase in prices and sales volume reported for March. According to numbers released Tuesday by DataQuick, the median sales prices for an OC home was $432,000 in March, up 12.2 percent from March 2009 and 3 percent from February 2010. Sales, meanwhile, also increased in OC: There were 2,652 sales in March, up 9 percent from March 2009.” The piece, written by Mike Reicher, continued to note that “An uptick in sales volume is common from February to March. This is the 20^th gain in sales compared to the previous year during the last 21 months. The sales volume, however, is still below the historical average.”

The same general picture regarding the cost of an Anaheim home for sale was reported in an April 13, 2010 article from the OC Metro. This piece noted that “Orange County’s median home price shot up 12.2 percent in March, compared to the same time last year, according to a new report released by DataQuick. The number hit $432,000 in the period, up from $385,000 at the same time last year.” The article, written by Kristen Schott, continued to say that “The price also increased over February, when the region’s median came in at $417,000. The news points to a continued steady improvement in O.C.’s and Southern California’s residential real estate industry, according to DataQuick.”

Still, the Anaheim real estate market continued to face some serious problems, according to a May 2, 2010 article in OC Metro, which found that “Orange County’s housing market is among the riskiest in the nation, according to a new study from Walnut Creek-based PMI Group.” The piece, composed by Kristen Schott, continued to say that “The second-quarter U.S. Market Risk Index, which bases its statistics on fourth-quarter data, shows that there’s a 99.8 percent chance that home prices will decline in the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine metropolitan area over the next two years.”

One of the highest-priced communities in one of the highest-priced real estate communities in America, Corona del Mar, California, is an upscale community of large, luxurious homes in Southern California’s famed Orange County. Over the past couple of years, the community has seen its real estate market go for a wild ride as the community felt the squeeze from the wider financial crisis as many of its residents lost assets and jobs and were forced from their homes and unable to sell for their original values.

The Corona del Mar real estate has seen many fluctuations over the past two years, and one can only wonder when the community’s market will again return to a stable condition. According to statistics published on an Orange County Register real estate blog in March, the month of February showed mixed signals in the Corona del Mar market. There were 13 homes sold in the community for the month, an increase of 30% from figures of the year prior and an encouraging sign.

However, pricing still shows much room for improvement. The median price of a home sold in Corona del Mar in February was $1.3 million, a drop of more than 26% from the median price in February of 2009. Pricing of Corona del Mar homes for sale showed a similar trend throughout the whole of 2009. According to Data Quick, the service from which the OC Register obtains its data, in all of 2009, Corona del Mar saw a median price of $1.35 million, down nearly 23% year-over-year. Despite the troubling pricing, sales activity was up — with 169 homes sold in 2009, up 13.4% from 2008.

Despite the wavering signals in Corona del Mar, the whole of Southern California seems to be showing signs for relief, and perhaps the Corona del Mar market will pick up along with the rest of the area in due time. Homes sales in the SoCal region have been up from 20 months in a row and as of mid-March, overall, median prices rose year-over-year for three months straight.

Huntington Beach is a relatively large city found in the Orange County region of Southern California. The Huntington Beach real estate market depends heavily on the larger trends experienced by the Southern California and Orange County areas. One potential problem facing Huntington Beach real estate is the foreclosure rate, as reported by the Orange County Metro. The article, written on February 16, 2010, noted that “Foreclosure notifications in Orange County rose slightly in January from the previous month, but the number still remains significantly lower than January of 2009’s figure.” According to an the piece, written by Carol Starcevic, further found that “The increase in third-party sales signals a growing trend in the distressed real estate market. The report indicates that investors are reporting increased competition and higher bids at auctions, bringing the average discount to 17.5 percent last month, which is down from 18.6 percent in December.”

Huntington Beach home sales decreased substantially in some areas during the later portion of January and some early days in February. The article, written by real estate reporter Marilyn Kalfus, found that “For the 22 business days ending February 5, DataQuick’s freshest homebuying stats show these trends in Surf City: City sales totaled 102 – that’s -8% vs. a year ago. Countywide, sales were +8% vs. a year ago in (the) same period.”The piece, published on March 1, 2010, continued to note that “Of the city’s 4 ZIP codes, 1 had sales gains vs. a year ago while 3 had a gain in their median selling price vs. a year ago. None of Huntington Beach’s 4 ZIP codes beat the 14.9% overall performance of the countrywide median for the past year.”

Huntington Beach real estate was heavily influenced by the larger trends of the Southern California real estate market. According to a February 17, 2010 article in the Los Angeles Times, “Southern California home prices rise 8.6%. But January’s year-over-year increase to $271,500 is a 6.1% drop from December. Total sales climb about 1% from a year earlier.” The piece, written by Alejandro Lazo, continued to find that “But compared with a particularly strong December, the median fell 6.1% to $271,500 in January, ending eight consecutive months of price appreciation or stability in the Southland, MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm, said Tuesday.”

Marin County is situated no more than twenty minutes to the north of San Francisco, but it is entirely in its own little world. Surrounded on three sides by water, Marin County is full of natural wonder and beauty, complimented by plenty of wide open spaces, sprawling redwood forests, clean beaches, various small towns and a mild climate year round. The area is exceptionally popular, and is seen as a mecca for cyclists, hikers, bird watchers, sunbathers, artistic types, sightseers and photographers; tourists travel here from all over the world.

The true charm of Marin lies in the areas eccentricities. There are dozens of unique communities providing hundreds of different lifestyle options. The county is divided up into four regions; South Marin, North Marin, West Marin and Central Marin; although officially there are 11 incorporated cities within the county. Every neighborhood has its own distinct features, history and draws. South Marin includes the prestigious communities of Tiburon, Sausalito, Mill Valley and Belvedere. Central Marin includes Larkspur, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Ross, Kentifield, San Anselmo, San Rafael and Fairfax. Novato is by itself up north, while West Marin consists of a number of warm and welcoming small towns.

Due to slow growth policies, Marin boasts a fairly small population that has proven remarkably sustainable and stable over the past few years. Picturesque surroundings, warm and welcoming communities, world class educational institutions, five star restaurants along with plenty of shopping locations have made Marin one of the most sought after places to live in the world.

Home prices in the area are some of the highest in the United States, and the price tags for Marin county real estate continue to rise. In 2008 the median sale price for a single family house was $1.268 million. Because of the strict anti growth policies preventing most new development, one third of the county is a permanently open space.

Marin County has a reputation as an extremely fashionable family oriented area. With its small population of roughly 250,000 people, residents here are generally highly educated, with one of the three highest per capita incomes in the nation. Thanks to its many draws, the area appeals to many and attracts a diverse range of individuals. However – most residents of Marin are families, with the average age here being just above 40. Generally, work here is divided amongst a number of different professions.

MARIN COUNTY SCHOOLS

Marin County schools have a long standing reputation for educational excellence. The schools here are consistently listed amongst the best in the state, with pupils earning SAT scores that stand well above the average in the United States. Marin has 19 public school districts, each of which is governed by its own board of trustees, and receives support from both state and local funding.