Pretty Maps of Housing Price "Collapse": Bay Area, Palm Springs

These appeared on Zillow a few weeks ago, and agree with the anecdotal understanding I have. People have complimented me on our excellent timing in selling our house in Sunnyvale (which was unintentional -- I just wanted to get out from under the maintenance), but the ironic bit is that it's actually worth about 5% more now. Desirable Bay Area properties are even higher than before the crash, while second-best houses, neighborhoods, and far-out areas attractive to lower middle class folks are in freefall.

Another data point: our friends John and Mark (who moved to Palm Springs last year, though Mark is here every week working) put their Atherton place up for sale at $4.195 million. It sold after two days on the market for much more than that. Since building the new house cost so much, they're not clearing anything like that amount, but still...

Some weakness in SoMa (where we might buy next) and half price sales in Cathedral City/Rancho Mirage (where we might also buy.)

( Big maps of price changes in the Bay Area and Palm Springs )