In the depths of the downturn (say, March 2008), the City of Antioch had over 800 active listings of single family homes on the market.  According to the MLS, only 105 homes sold that month, which translated into an 8-month supply of inventory.  Needless to say those were also the months where we saw double digit price declines year-over-year.

Fast forward to today: In the first two and a half months of 2012, 247 homes sold in Antioch, or approximately 98 sales per month.  The current active inventory according the Contra Costa MLS is 103, meaning a 1.1-month supply of inventory!  While this may not mean that prices are going to rocket up anytime soon in East Contra Costa County, it is definitely a great sign that the market has found a “natural” bottom and might have even overcorrected on the way down.

This same story is being repeated in Brentwood, Oakley, Pittsburg and other tertiary Bay Area markets, which were first to fall off the “cliff” a few years ago.

This work-off of resale inventory is starting to show its affect on new home absorptions.  In 2011 builders in East Contra Costa County were struggling to get to 1 to 2 sales per month on average. In the first few months of 2012, absorptions have been running between 3 and 4 sales per month. If this trend continues we expect more builders to begin venturing back out to the tertiary markets to look for new residential land deals.

Source: Steve Reilly, Senior Marketing Consultant, (925) 368-3128