The Housing Bubble

The Ventura County Star reports from California. “Last month’s Southern California homes sales, while the highest in 10 months, continued at their slowest pace in more than two decades, DataQuick reported today. It was the slowest June in the agency’s records, which date back to 1988. In Ventura County, there were 767 transactions in June, a 13.4 percent drop from 886 sales a year ago. The median was $420,000, down 27.8 percent from $582,000 a year ago.”

“About 41 percent of the Southern California homes that sold last month involved foreclosed properties, according to the report.”

The Union Tribune. “Prices in San Diego County slipped by yet another year-over-year record of 25.3 percent to a median $370,000. Sales in June were the second-lowest on record for the month.”

“Southern and inland neighborhoods recorded prices as much as 43.1 percent down in Logan Heights, compared with the first half of 2007.”

“‘We have multiple offers consistently,’” said Marc Carpenter, a San Diego real estate agent who sells bank-owned houses and condominiums. ‘Buyers are seeing properties that they watched sell two years ago for $650,000 and now they are priced at $400,000. To them, it’s a great value.’”

The North County Times. “The number of notices of default surpassed 1,100 for the third straight month while foreclosure sales, the final step, hovered around 600 for the fourth straight month, according to ForeclosureRadar. The numbers were close to foreclosure activity peaks set over the last couple of months for North County foreclosure activity.”

“Because notices of default typically precede bank-owned foreclosures by three to six months, the plateau of high numbers suggest that North County will continue to see more foreclosures throughout the year.”

“‘I would certainly sign on with the conclusion that this is not about to go away,’ said James Hamilton, an economics professor with UC San Diego. ‘I think every indication we have suggests that home prices will continue to fall, that as they do, that will increase the foreclosure rate, and I don’t see something on the horizon making this problem more manageable.’”

“Banks own about 3,100 of the 5,000 houses and condominiums now listed for sale in southwest Riverside County, according to the Multi-Regional MLS and Foreclosureradar. And roughly half of the houses selling recently have been foreclosures.”

“Builders are starting what they say is one of the most energy-efficient housing developments in Southern California, though its prospects are uncertain in what has become the worst real estate slump in a decade.”

“‘People think they can get a good deal on a foreclosure, but it doesn’t have solar power,’ said Tim McGinnis, president of Woodside Homes’ California subsidiary.”

The Orange County Register. “Four out of the five foreclosurer buyers interviewed by the Register paid less than their home’s previous owner - between 24 percent to 31 percent less. In those four cases, the previous buyers bought at the peak of the market, then lost their home to foreclosure. Savings for the new buyers ranged from $133,000 to $251,000.”

“If she hadn’t found a foreclosure to buy, single mom Lou Kane might still be a renter. She wanted to be in her own home before her 11-year-old son started middle school, so she began house hunting this past winter.”

“After getting outbid on six of the first 12 homes she wanted to buy, she decided to up the ante on the 13th, a two-level townhome in Fountain Valley with new floors, carpeting, windows, copper plumbing and fresh paint.”

“The bank listed it for $417,000, so she offered $425,000. She took possession in March. ‘I wanted to build equity (in a home),’ she said. ‘I knew it was a down market. No one really knows if it will go down further. No one has a crystal ball.’”

“Joe and Michelle Lawwill got a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom home with a pool in Anaheim Hills for $610,000 - nearly $200,000 less than the previous buyer had paid. But their new home also came with a lot of unexpected repairs after having a neglectful owner and then sitting vacant following foreclosure.”

“The lawn and plants died. Outdoor drains were plugged with dirt. Sprinkler heads lay broken. Lights and wiring had to be replaced. Bad patch jobs covered holes where speakers had been attached to walls. Electric sockets were plugged with paint.”

“After spending all his nights and weekends making repairs, Lawwill’s not sure he would buy another foreclosure. ‘I probably would spend a little bit more and get it from someone who cared about it,’ he said.”

The Press Enterprise. “Sales activity in Riverside and San Bernardino County continues to increase from 12 months ago, mostly from buyers seeking bargain-priced homes in some phase of foreclosure. That accounts for 41 percent of all resale transactions in Southern California, almost six times as much as last year.”

“The median price of a hold sold in Riverside County in June was $275,000 down 31.3 percent from where it was in June 2007.”

“In San Bernardino County the median price has fallen 34.2 percent in the last year to $240,000. In both Inland counties, the median price of an existing home is off about $150,000 since the peak of the housing market in late 2006.”

“The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp….released its mid-year economic forecast for the rest of 2008 and first half of 2009. A little more than a year ago, Jack Kyser’s agency had anticipated a 10.7 percent year-over-year increase in taxable retail sales for 2007. Instead, the year saw a 3.1 percent drop, and now he foresees a 3.7 percent decline for 2008.”

“‘The overall environment changed dramatically in a lot of sectors,’ Kyser said. ‘It will be pretty thin gruel,’ according to the report.”

“Murrieta officials will place nearly a half-million dollars worth of liens on properties to cover delinquent payments for trash service. The dollar amount is double the prior year’s and coincides with a rise in foreclosed properties.”

“Residents said it is silly that empty homes still have trash cans in their driveways.”

“‘No backyard, no front lawn but they have two trash cans just sitting there,’ said David Johnson, as he looked over his fence into his neighbor’s yard. ‘They left two months ago so I don’t see why they have to pay for trash pick-up. Ain’t no trash there. Just weeds.’”

The San Bernardino Sun. “People driving past new houses often see large signs offering incentives to get them to come in and take a look. The most recent one - ‘Trade-ins welcome.’ Nick Ondatje, a Realtor with Park Place GMAC Real Estate, talked about why new home builders want to work with this incentive.”

“‘As soon as the prices went sky high in 2002-04, we saw these phenomenally historical rises in home value,’ Ondatje said. ‘People had the perception that they had all this equity, so they started touching that money and using it to buy toys. Now the position they find themselves in is they owe $400,000 on their house and they can only sell it for $200,000. The only way that will come into play with the new homes and making a move into that is a lot of the new homes are offering a variety of different incentives to sell their property.’”

The Monterey County Herald. “This time it’s not just a housing tract that’s been waylaid by free-falling home values and credit woes. It’s an entire planned community.”

“Recently, developers for the much-ballyhooed East Garrison project notified Monterey County officials that they planned to hold off on building the first phase of homes and other buildings until the housing market starts to rebound.”

“Keith McCoy of Urban Community Partners said the developers have submitted a formal report to the county, which he said reflects a drop of more than 25 percent in the local housing market, including a ‘drastic’ reduction in the number of homes being sold on the Central Coast, he said.”

“‘We slowed things down a little in the spring and we were hoping things would come back a bit, but they didn’t,’ McCoy said.”

“Supervisor Dave Potter called the delay a disappointment, but not necessarily a surprise. ‘I had hoped the project, because of its unique nature, would survive (the downturn),’ Potter said while acknowledging the difficulty in competing with the ‘glut’ of housing on the market.”

Bay Area Newsgroup. “The housing crisis. A bank failure. Oil shocks. The credit crunch. A job slump. The mortgage meltdown. Feeble auto sales. The stock market slide. A sour economic outlook was delivered to Congress on Tuesday.”

“‘Everything seems to be going haywire and nobody knows what to make of it,’ said Jon Haveman, a partner with Beacon Economics, which tracks regional economies in California.”

“‘We’re in a terrible state of uncertainty,’ said Eugene Miller, chairman of a real estate law firm with offices in Walnut Creek. ‘People have little confidence in the future. Right now, we are in the deer-in-the-headlights phase of the economic cycle.’”

“Marsha Cabral, a Fremont-based residential agent, blames bad publicity for some of the problems. ‘The news media is not doing the housing industry a lot of good,’ Cabral said. ‘Houses are selling. But buyers are more cautious than they should be.’”

The Pasadena Star News. “IndyMac customers have voiced concerns about the safety of their money in the wake of Friday’s takeover of the Pasadena-based mortgage lender by federal regulators. People want to be clear on which funds are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - and which are not.”

“‘I’m scared,’ said Maxine DeBruce, 73, of Duarte. ‘That’s my life savings. I just put all of my eggs into one basket, which I’ve been told never to do. I had to do a lot of repairs on my house. I put in a new roof and a new ceiling.’”

“DeBruce said she purchased three certificates of deposit through IndyMac - one for her and her daughter, another for her and her son and a third that lists all three as holders Debruce may be in luck.”

“‘My first thought was that my life is over,’ she said. ‘What in the world would I do at my age?’”

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg. “Confidence among U.S. homebuilders dropped to a record low in July. The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo sentiment index decreased to 16 from 18 in June, the Washington- based group said today. Readings under 50 mean most respondents view conditions as poor.”

“The NAHB index of buyer traffic fell to 12 in July from 16. All of the gauge’s three components were the lowest ever and pessimism grew in three of four regions.”

“‘Given the systematic deterioration of job markets, rising energy costs and sinking home values aggravated by the rising tide of foreclosures, many prospective buyers have simply returned to the sidelines until conditions improve,’ David Seiders, chief economist at the builders’ group, said in a statement.”

From Portfolio.com. “Through a program that provided loans on favorable terms to V.I.P. borrowers, the nation’s largest mortgage lender curried favor with politicians, government officials, and business partners who were in a position to influence policy, profits, or public opinion.”

“A loan officer…who served as gatekeeper for the V.I.P. program from 2000 to 2004, wrote hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of loans-as much as $400 million in 2003 alone-for customers whom his superiors had singled out for special treatment. After he filled out the applications, they were processed by a V.I.P.-loan underwriting unit, which had its own branch number in Countrywide’s recordkeeping system.”

“To gain access and ‘keep their edge,’ says retired managing director Sidney Lenz, who oversaw government relations for Countrywide, the company’s lobbyists identified potential customers on Capitol Hill and in federal agencies and directed them to the V.I.P. program.”

“The company’s lobbyists were ‘incredibly receptive’ to loan requests from officials, she says, and it paid off.”

“‘Countrywide had an incredibly good relationship with Congress. It was not unusual for us to get a call saying, ‘A bill’s being introduced. It’s a little technical, and there are parts we don’t understand. Can you help educate us on this?’”

From Politico.com. “If you want to know how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have survived scandal and crisis, consider this: Over the past decade, they have spent nearly $200 million on lobbying and campaign contributions. But the political tentacles of the mortgage giants extend far beyond their checkbooks.”

“They’ve stacked their payrolls with top Washington power brokers of all political stripes, including Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign manager, Rick Davis; Democrat Barack Obama’s original vice presidential vetter, Jim Johnson; and scores of others now working for the two rivals for the White House.”

“Critics have long argued that both Fannie and Freddie operated with too small a capital cushion to adequately offset financial risk. But the mortgage giants have consistently beaten back congressional efforts to increase oversight, even after a major accounting scandal in 2003 resulted in a $400 million fine for Fannie.”

“In July 2003, Davis wrote to the American Banker, taking issue with an opinion piece by Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste, arguing that Fannie and Freddie should operate with greater transparency.”

“‘Several of Ms. Paige’s assertions bear correction,’ Davis wrote, defending Fannie and Freddie on behalf of the group. ‘The GSEs are subject to an innovative and stringent risk-based capital stress test - the toughest in the financial services industry.’”

“McCain has called the government’s weekend intervention in the struggling companies ‘correct,’ saying he hoped that the action would ‘preserve the ability of Americans to obtain loans in order to buy a home and be able to afford mortgage payments they’re having to make.’”

From CNN Money. “Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was hammered by lawmakers on Tuesday over the Bush administration’s plan to prop up mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Paulson argued that the best way to assure the markets was to give the broadest possible guarantees of access to government capital by those firms.”

“‘If you’ve got a squirt gun in your pocket, you probably will have to take it out,’ Paulson said. ‘If you have a bazooka in your pocket and people know it, you probably won’t have to take it out.’”

“The rescue plan won some support. But the amount of opposition and skepticism from other members of the committee, both Democrat and Republican, suggested that hopes voiced by Paulson and Dodd for action on the proposal within the next week may be a long shot.”

“Other senators questioned whether the rescue plan would reward management and shareholders who should have seen problems coming due to the downturn in housing. And some even questioned if trying to rescue the firms at this point is really the best course.”

“‘The question we are really going to be dealing with is this a model that works any more?’ asked Sen. Chuck Hagel.”

The Associated Press. “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in ‘no danger of failing.’ Bernanke said the ‘best solution’ is to keep Fannie and Freddie ‘in their current form’ as opposed to having the government take them over.”

“It is also vital for Congress to boost regulatory oversight on the two companies. Such powers are contained in a sweeping housing-rescue package. Congressional leaders plan to add to the bill the provisions Paulson is seeking to aid Fannie and Freddie.”

“Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the panel’s most senior Republican, said of the housing boom-to-bust situation: ‘Fortunes were made on the way up and pain will be felt on the way down.’”

The National Journal. “At least one member was unconvinced. ‘When I picked up my newspaper yesterday, I thought I woke up in France. But no, it turns out socialism is alive and well in America. The Treasury secretary is asking for a blank check to buy as much Fannie and Freddie debt or equity as he wants,’ said Sen. Jim Bunning.”

The Birmingham News. “Sen. Richard Shelby said Tuesday the current housing crisis is an opportune time to ‘rein in’ the two government-sponsored enterprises - a goal of his for many years - but he stopped short of formally endorsing the plan announced over the weekend by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr.”

“‘We realize that they’re important to our housing. They’re important to our economy,’ Shelby said during one of two hearings on the subject Tuesday. ‘But they have to be capitalized well. They’ve got to be managed well. And they’ve got to be regulated.’”

“Shelby also mocked those who opposed stronger regulation of Fannie and Freddie in legislation he pushed years ago because they feared it would endanger the companies.”

“‘Goodness,’ he said. ‘I hope it is now clear that quite the opposite is true.’”

The Daily Bulletin. “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Senate are attempting to ban seller-funded downpayment-assistance programs, claiming they are a driving force behind the foreclosure crisis.”

“The housing relief bill passed by the Senate prohibits the use of seller-funded downpayments - and effectively bans the nonprofits supplying the service - on FHA-insured loans. The White House is threatening a veto should the bill clear the House of Representatives as it is currently written.”

“The House’s version of the bill, which was passed in May, would tighten standards but ultimately maintain the legality of such programs.”

“Last fall, HUD proposed eliminating the programs but was blocked in court. HUD reported nonprofit downpayment-assistance is used in 14.8 percent of all FHA loans that default within 90 days, as opposed to 7.57 percent of buyers who use gifts from family.”

“According to Sen. Kit Bond, the nationwide surge of foreclosures proves what can happen when borrowers overextend themselves. ‘Putting a family in a home they cannot afford is setting them up for failure,’ said Bond. ‘They should wait until they’ve saved … for at least a modest downpayment.’”

“And, opponents of the programs add, sellers, including home builders, merely inflate their prices to pay for the downpayment assistance.”

“Scott Syphax, CEO of Nehemiah Corp. of America, said his company helped 14,000 Californians buy a home the past year. ‘We have a number of supporters in Congress,’ said Syphax.”

The New York Times. “Bank stocks spun wildly on Tuesday in another bruising day for financial companies. The marketplace is passing harsh judgment on an industry that was a darling of Wall Street when home prices and mortgage lending boomed in recent years.”

“The missteps the banks made in good times are glaring. ‘The whole allure of regional banks has gone out of fashion,’ said David Hendler, a research analyst at Credit Sights in New York. ‘They used to have the best perfume in the business. Now, they have an odor.’”

“Even the whiff of bad news can send a stock falling. Zions Bancorporation, a Utah-based lender which barreled into construction lending in once-hot markets like Nevada and California, planned to use its in-house brokerage arm to raise $150 million in a series of deals. But when it raised only about $47 million in its first attempt, investors concluded the bank was struggling to raise cash.”

“‘The stock has literally cratered,’ said Richard X. Bove, a prominent banking analyst. ‘It has just fallen apart.’”

The St Louis Post Dispatch. “Local bankers say they are in good shape, but their customers are nervous as the bad news about lenders nationally continues to pile up. ‘People who never asked about FDIC insurance are asking about it now,’ said Steve Marsh, president of Enterprise Bank & Trust in Clayton. ‘They also ask about exposure to subprime loans.’”

“In testimony Tuesday before Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tried to put IndyMac’s troubles in perspective.”

“‘Its failure … was inevitable,’ he said because the bank was weighed down by low-quality mortgages. ‘All banks are being challenged by credit conditions now,’ he said, adding that the Fed is keeping close tabs on the nation’s banking sector.”

“‘The real issue is, there are bankers who simply lost track of their role as the financial custodian of their depositors’ assets,’ said David Naunheim, president of commercial lending for UMB Bank in St. Louis. ‘They just haven’t stuck to their knitting.’”

“Rick Bagy, president of First National Bank of St. Louis, said local banks haven’t been hurt as much as other markets because real estate values haven’t declined as drastically as they have elsewhere. Most local banks avoided subprime loans, those made to borrowers with shaky credit.”

“‘We all tend to overreact to information,’ he said. ‘Our opinion at First National Bank is that we have reached the bottom of the housing market in St. Louis. It may be flat. We are about - and I can’t define ‘about’ - to improve.’”

The Miami Herald. “Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez on Tuesday announced the arrests of 30 people on charges related to mortgage fraud. The arrests, carried out over the last six months, bring the number of arrests to 56 since the mortgage-fraud task force was formed in September.”

“Real-estate professionals, including agents, mortgage brokers and appraisers were among those arrested as well as people who had sold their identities so homes could be bought in so-called straw-buyer schemes.”

“‘What is really disturbing is you can see the fraud occurring at all levels,’ Alvarez said, noting that lenders were also guilty to the extent they made loans without confirming borrowers’ identities or the information in mortgage applications.”

“Earlier this year, state legislators passed a law toughening penalties for mortgage-fraud convictions and requiring law enforcement to notify local property appraisers of properties possibly targeted by scammers.”

“Appraisers would then have to consider whether property values for neighboring homeowners should be revalued for tax purposes. The law took effect July 1.”

“Florida ranks first in the nation for mortgage fraud and second in the number of foreclosures. ‘The real estate crisis has to do not only with the economy but [with] the amount of fraud that has taken place in our community,’ Alvarez said.”

The Missoulian reports from Montana. “More and more condominiums are emerging in the commercially zoned areas of Missoula, ranging from new construction to apartment conversions. There are 210 condominiums currently on the market in the Missoula area, with list prices ranging from about $85,000 to about $585,000. Jeff Ellis, an agent selling the 42-unit Uptown Flats on Orange Street, said they’ve sold about 30 percent of their units, which range from $159,900 to $224,000.”

“The units, which range from 613 square feet to 820 square feet. Monthly condo fees are about $177. ‘People are taking a little more time making a decision,’ Ellis said. ‘We projected we would have this sold in six months to a year, and it could take two years. But that’s just a guesstimate.’”

“With more onlookers than bidders, the owners of a restored Craftsman-style ‘trout lodge’ near Hamilton decided to cancel Monday’s auction of their 3,500-square-foot home.”

“Owners Larry and Mary Melia had hoped to generate excitement and a bidding frenzy for their ranch by choosing a ‘no reserve’ auction. But, moments before the event, they chose to exercise a clause allowing them to withdraw from the auction before the bidding commenced.”

“‘This isn’t what we planned to do and no one is more disappointed than us,’ said Larry Melia. ‘Certainly, the public perception that real estate is in trouble has an effect.’”

“Several real estate agents said the canceled auction also reflects a weakening market for expensive homes in the Bitterroot Valley, where reportedly just one home sold for more than $1 million in the past six months. They said there is more competition these days for buyers of high-end homes, including about 40 homes currently listed for between $700,000 and $1.2 million.”

“Bob Dunbar of Corvallis had registered to bid on the home. He said he was disappointed the auction was canceled, but said he understood the Melias’ decision. ‘I expected half the town to be on the lawn just to see it, if nothing else,’ he said. ‘With the number of people here, I would have jitters if I were the owner, too.’”

The Idaho Mountain Express. “Carey real estate became a hot commodity three or four years ago when spiking real estate prices in Hailey and Bellevue drove many home buyers out of the Wood River Valley market. In response, electrical contractor Craig Patterson developed Carey View Estates, the city’s first subdivision. He said the 36 lots sold quickly in 2005.”

“‘We sold 11 lots in one day,’ he said. ‘The prices jumped from $30,000 to $50,000 and then to $75,000. It was overwhelming.’”

“Patterson said he would get three or four calls a month from people looking for lots. ‘Now I don’t get any,’ he said.”

The Idaho Statesman. “The credit crisis rocking the nation’s lenders has banking customers in Boise seeking a safe place to keep their money.”

“‘The psychology has changed,’ said Rob Perez, who opened his own bank, Western Capital Bank, just three months ago. ‘People are no longer saying, ‘How high are my returns?’ They’re saying, ‘How safe is my money?’”

“He said a customer told him Monday morning that he was opening an account at Western Capital Bank because he knew the bank hadn’t made any of the risky real estate loans now causing so much trouble for other lenders.”

“‘He said, ‘I make an assumption that your loan assets are more conservative than (at) other banks,’ said Perez. ‘You haven’t had time to book problem assets. That’s the first time someone has come to me and made a decision on this basis.’”

The Bend Bulletin from Oregon. “Bend’s 529 home sales during the six-month period from January through June were down 60 percent from the same period in 2005 and 39 percent from 2007.”

“Prices have come down ‘tremendously’ the past six to eight months, said Julie DeVoe, a broker in Redmond. More offers are being made, but many of them are short sales, which require a bank’s approval because the sales price is less than what is owed on the home, she said.”

“‘There are a lot fewer sales than last year,’ DeVoe said. ‘We’re writing plenty of offers, but I’m wondering if they’re going to close.’”

The Oregonian. “Through the first half of 2008, Portland-area homeowners reported 9,800 closed sales. That’s down 34 percent from the same period a year ago. The Portland-area inventory of unsold homes remained at a high 9.5 months, according to the Regional MLS for Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties.”

“Bill Conerly, a Lake Oswego economist, said he suspects that some homeowners aren’t selling because they don’t want to accept that their home values have dropped. ‘Instead, people are saying, ‘I’ll wait until the market comes back,’ Conerly said.”

“The Portland market’s trouble isn’t because buyers can’t get financing, Conerly said. ‘We just built more housing than we needed,’ he said.”

“Clark County, Wash., continues to fare worse than the Portland area. The county reported a median price of $249,900 in June, a 6 percent decline from June 2007.’”

The Spokane Journal from Washington. “Businesses here that supply goods and services to the home construction market say as home building slows, they’re looking to other markets within the construction industry to help sustain them during the downturn.”

“‘We all saw it coming,’ Randy Hastings, president of Spokane-based R&R Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., says of the housing slowdown. ‘Now, we’ll just buckle down and hang on for the ride.’”

“Troy Varness, general manager at Fred’s Appliance Inc., says…sales of appliances to builders for homes priced between $300,000 and $600,000 have slowed. ‘We’re hearing from our builders that the presold, build-to-suit homes are doing okay; it’s the spec homes that are hurting everybody,’ Varness says.”

“Varness adds, ‘Really, 2005 and 2006 were unrealistic. It was too much growth too fast and there were too many builders in the market.’”

The Bellingham Herald from Washington. “Whatcom County had a significant rise in the number of bankruptcy filings in June. The jump in June has had an impact on year-to-date numbers. In the first six months of 2008, there were 257 bankruptcy filings, up 41.2 percent compared to the first half of 2007. The filings include all types of bankruptcy chapters.”

“Overall there have been 4,181 bankruptcy filings at the Seattle office through the end of June, up 33.2 percent compared to the same period last year.”

“Whatcom County’s unemployment rate took a significant jump in June, rising to the highest level in more than three years.”

“Joe Giannamore, regional labor economist for the state, said the local unemployment rate is reflective of what’s happening with the national economy, noting that the year-over-year change was the biggest jump since April 2002.”

“‘The drop-off (in job orders) really happened in May and June,’ said Gary Smith, regional manager at WorkSource Northwest.”f our services.”

“Part of the drop can be tied to the slowdown in construction. During a time of year when the area traditionally ramps up its construction workforce, the total number of workers dropped from 8,000 in May to 7,800 in June. The number of people employed in construction in June was 500 less than for the same month two years ago.”

“Giannamore said the slump in construction jobs is out of the norm. ‘Whatcom County usually doesn’t see a drop-off in construction jobs until September. Having it happen in June is something we need to watch closely,’ Giannamore said.”

The Province from British Columbia. “The mayor of Kaslo is calling for creation of a new property-tax class that distinguishes between full-time residents and absentee owners. Out-of-towners have bought up much of the affordable housing stock in the village, holding the property for future plans and often pulling it out of the rental market.”

“The result, according to Mayor Jim Holland, is ‘we have a shortage of housing here.’”

“Between January and April, the price of homes in the southeastern B.C. community doubled. ‘Anything that’s not a shack is going to be over $200,000,’ Holland said.”

The Vancouver Sun. “While British Columbia bucked a trend that saw Canadian home prices fall for the first time this decade, the province’s real estate market is squarely in the buyer’s court with inventory up and the volume of sales dropping by 36 per cent in June compared to the same period last year.”

“Buyers here can expect to see prices flatten or even decline slightly, according to Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C.Real Estate Association. But if you’re waiting to pick up a Vancouver home at rock-bottom prices, you’ll be disappointed.”

“‘We don’t expect to see a substantial price correction,’ said Muir. ‘It is perfectly reasonable to expect home prices will stay fairly flat or even decline a couple of per cent a year until affordability picks up.’”

“‘We certainly see a large increase in the number of listings out there,’ said Muir. ‘In June, the number of active listings was almost 54-per-cent higher than it was a year ago. In Greater Vancouver, it is 53-per-cent higher.’”

“‘We see demand coming off its record levels and we are seeing inventory levels beginning to swell,’ Muir said. ‘Some home sellers are going to need to sharpen their pencils in terms of pricing; no longer can you price your home in relation to the accelerating market conditions of the past and expect to sell it in a reasonable period of time.’”

“With little upward pressure on home prices, the market now is tilted in favour of home buyers instead of sellers. In B.C. and Vancouver, it is a buyer’s market.”

“Muir said recreational real estate purchases are also feeling the pressure as potential buyers find the equity in their homes not climbing as fast as in the past.”

The Anchorage Daily News from Alaska. “Right now in Anchorage, it takes longer to sell a house than it has anytime in the last eight years, according to MLS statistics.”

“Common in the Lower 48, staging is gaining attention in Anchorage thanks to TV shows like HGTV’s ‘Get It Sold’ and ‘Designed To Sell.’ Since the start of the year, at least three home-staging businesses have opened here. ‘It’s something Anchorage is sort of behind the curve on,’ said Clair Ramsey, a longtime Anchorage real estate agent.”

“Jan Pennington retired last year after working 26 years in the real estate business, where she learned firsthand that staging can bring quicker sales and higher prices.”

“It’s a buyer’s market here right now. Housing prices have dropped only marginally, said Niel Thomas, a longtime Anchorage real estate agent, but there are plenty of houses for sale and it’s taking longer to sell them. That means it’s a stager’s market too.”

“But no one’s getting rich, at least not yet. ‘This is our second job,’ Pennington said. ‘My first job is Social Security.’”

“While many property owners’ renovations are giving downtown Palmer a face-lift, that may be a bit deceiving regarding construction overall. At the City Council’s meeting July 8, Sandra Garley, director of community development, gave the mayor, city manager and the council some grim news: The number of building permits issued so far this year is at a 10-year low.”

“Through June, only 50 permits had been issued to builders. That compares to a high of 80 for the same period in 2003.”

“Even though there weren’t many permits granted in 1999, the value of the property being built was $14.5 million compared to this year’s $2 million.”

“The story’s similar in Wasilla. ‘”We’re experiencing the same thing,’ city planner Jim Holycross, said Monday. ‘In June we had six permits, and this month we have two. Of course the month isn’t over.’”

“With building in slow mode, those who supply lumber, paint, wiring and all the other stuff, are feeling it as well.”

“‘It’s less than before, but everybody’s not doing as much business as last year,’ said Jason Crist, assistant manager at Spenard Builders Supply in Palmer. ‘We had two or three good years there.’”

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