I just had this conversation with my husband... Is perception reality in the Bay Area Real Estate? There are many areas that have been negatively effected by foreclosures and short sales but as the weather, there are many micro climates of Real Estate.

Yes there are some areas that have been severely impacted by foreclosures with values plummeting. Other areas are not seeing the deep impacts. Yes, values have come down in most markets, but there are areas that are not as severely impacted.

Oakland is a very good example. In East Oakland foreclosures account for about 50% of the homes for sales. Now move to Rockridge.  You are still in Oakland, but the amount of foreclosures in Rockridge are few and far between with values and homes sales still doing okay.

It seems hard to believe that markets can vary so widely even in the same city, but it really goes to prove that location can have a huge impact on price and desirability of a neighborhood.

When looking at the Real Esate Market, especially in the Bay Area, using a broad brush to paint the picture really doesn't work. Knowing the localized markets and looking at the current trends for those areas is really the best way to evaluate the Real Estate Market.

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