Local Market Observations!
What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Lower prices? “Most Clark County homeowners will see a decline in their assessed property values when 2007 statements from the Assessor’s office are mailed out next week. It is the first drop in overall assessed values since the early 1980s. ‘I’ve just never seen assessed values go down,’ said Mike Webber, residential appraisal staff manager, adding that some Clark County homeowners might be expecting even larger declines.”
“Housing experts from around the state are taking an up-close look at Montana’s housing economy, and the statewide drop in housing prices. Home prices in Montana have fallen almost 5% during the past year, and new housing starts are down statewide more than 34%.”
“Treasure Valley single-family residential home sales reached their high for the year in May with 717 transactions, or a 59 percent increase since the start of the year. Median home prices, however, are still drifting lower as long-suffering homeowners are finally throwing in the towel and lowering their asking price and lenders are increasingly willing to accept ’short sales,’ experts said.”
“‘People have seen their homes sitting on the market for a year, or year-and-a-half, and have finally taken a bite out of a reality sandwich and dropped their (asking) price,’ said Mike Pennington, a residential specialist in Boise.”
“For sale signs are becoming yard art for many Arkansas homes. They represent many different realtors, advertising reduced prices and specials designed to attract buyers. Heather Waterfield is one of those home owners with her Benton home on market. Waterfield bought the house two years ago and hopes to move to Florida soon to be with her family.”
“‘We’ve had the house on the market since December, and we have not had one person look at,’ she said.”
Or foreclosures? “As a consequence of the mortgage crisis, banks and lenders are forced into making sure foreclosed properties are secure. As a result, several locksmiths in the area have seen an increase in business. ‘Sometimes you have to pick the locks to get into the houses because they usually don’t leave the keys,’ said Ed Mitchell, owner of A1 Locksmith.”
“Lately, Mitchell has been changing locks on two or three foreclosed homes per week, making sure previous homeowners who have been evicted can’t back get in. ‘We don’t want the owners going back in to strip the houses out,’ said Mitchell.”
Business fallout? “Franklin Bank Corp., the Texas bank led by founder Lewis Ranieri, is closing its unit that provides financing to mortgage bankers, according to a person familiar with the situation.”
“The Houston-based company is ’substantially exiting’ the so-called warehouse-lending business, firing most of its 20 employees, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced. Franklin can’t sell the loans to securities firms, the person said.”
“With Franklin’s departure, the number of banks providing funding for mortgage bankers has dwindled to 12 from about 75 two years ago, said David Lykken, head of Austin, Texas-based Mortgage Banking Solutions. Among those, only half are taking applications, he said.”
“‘This is alarming for the mortgage industry,’ said Lykken. ‘It is right now the weakest link.’”
“IndyMac Bancorp Inc.’s troubles have gone from bad to worse. The Pasadena-based bank - already battered by fallout from the subprime meltdown, mounting home foreclosures and tightened credit standards - is now facing a class-action lawsuit.”
“The complaint…filed this week in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of IndyMac shareholders accuses the bank of issuing misleading information that artificially inflated IndyMac’s stock price.”
“In an interview earlier this year, CEO Michael W. Perry expressed frustration with the industrywide problems IndyMac has had to grapple with - problems than began in earnest last year. ‘It was bad from beginning to end,’ he said, referring to 2007. ‘We started the year missing our forecast for the fourth quarter of 2006. But that was nothing compared to the way the year progressed.’”
“A combination of slow sales and a desire to do something different has led Gary Robinson to close his 33-year-old business, The Yard Lumber & Fence Supply in Modesto. Construction-related businesses, from contractors to furniture stores, have reported slow sales over the last year as part of the meltdown in the valley’s housing market.”
“At The Auction Park in Salida, owner Roger Ernst said he’s had about 20 business liquidations in recent months. Many of them are from construction-related businesses that are closing or consolidating, Ernst said, and have too much equipment relative to their workload.”‘
“If it’s not working, why have it?’ said Ernst. ‘It’s a sign of the times.’”
Rent to own comparisons? “Although the Scottish housing market is performing better than many other parts of the UK, most commentators believe future gains will be subdued.”
“On the open market the property Emma McCaffery currently rents in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh would cost over £750,000. If she were to put down a 10 per cent deposit and mortgage the remaining £675,000 at 6 per cent, it would cost a fraction under £4,350 a month to service a 25-year mortgage on an interest and repayment basis. As it stands, the monthly rent on the property is £1,050.”
“‘My boyfriend and I are both working and so we can afford to pay the rent, save some money and live in a nice place,’ McCaffery explained. ‘We don’t think it’s worth mortgaging ourselves up to the hilt and taking on board all of the associated maintenance costs that ownership brings, especially since we are unlikely to see a significant return on any property investment in the short to medium term.’”
Here in Stonington Maine, there were 3 real estate offices 15 years ago. As of this past winter, we got down to 1 1/2. The “half” was a place that at least still had a sign on the front of it pointing potential buyers to the main office of Downeast Properties in Blue Hill, and pointing them to the local Stonington persons associated with that office (two sales agents). Now, that building has a new business name on the signboard, and says something like, “Coming soon: gifts clothing accessories” — hey! good luck with THAT at a time when nobody from southern New England is spending the gas money to drive up here! OTOH, the temperature here is almost worth the drive. (highs around 80 instead of NYC 98)
But where is the Maine RE troll (bicoastal?) who insists Maine real estate always goes up…… I bet because of the weather too.
Huh? I am not a real estate troll and never insisted Maine real estate always goes up. Where’s your evidence for that statement?
P.S. to exeter–If you would like to meet at high noon, to determine who is or who is not a most odious “real estate troll”, I will be in your neighborhood (Nottingham, NH) on June 26th, to drop my dog off for a visit with her breeder. Not having written anything on this blog that is actionable, I don’t mind revealing who I am if you are willing to do the same.
BTW is there an emoticon for “punching you in the nose”?
Winter gear such as gloves, mittens, ear muffs, shovels, and that sort of thing have been life savers for north east coast retail in the past, but local generalists like groceries and hardware stores usually pick up most of that slack. Consumer staples are the new black.
Here in Knox County, some idiot…I mean, optimistic Realtor (TM) has opened a new firm. Couldn’t believe it when I drove up this morning and saw a half dozen of their spanking new red signs on the main drag.
Spent most of the weekend on Martha’s Vineyard. On my morning walk from my girlfriend’s house in Vineyard Haven to the West Chop lighthouse, there were not one but five obscenely large houses going up, four on the ocean and one on the other side of the road, but with unobstructed views across a protected meadow. The size of these monstrosities (I would not call them McMansions, since each is unique in its own awful way) made the houses that went up in the Eighties, which we used to scorn as hideously garish and conspicuous, seem, um, tasteful and restrained. Had dinner with a realtor who told me that the high end on the Vineyard is scorching hot (as the rich use the current crisis to scoop up property on the cheap) and there is some action on the entry level, while “middle class” houses ($1M - $6M) are dying on the vine. Faring worst of all are small houses in the Historic District. Unfortunately, my friend (due to a divorce) is trying to sell her landmarked, historic house for $1.5M. I wished her luck.
Good morning everyone,
Sounds like Emma is a HBBer.
“‘My boyfriend and I are both working and so we can afford to pay the rent, save some money and live in a nice place,’ McCaffery explained. ‘We don’t think it’s worth mortgaging ourselves up to the hilt and taking on board all of the associated maintenance costs that ownership brings, especially since we are unlikely to see a significant return on any property investment in the short to medium term.’”
Yeah, without prices going up, people start to do the math. Realtors and sellers really hate when people start making rational economic decisions.
That’s a monthly rent multiple of over 700.
I wouldn’t be buying either.
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2008/06/house-prices-housing-british
Kingston Quay in Glasgow is one of the smart dockside developments that were supposed to help regenerate Britain’s older industrial cities. The blocks don’t look bad, with generous balconies and double-height penthouses. But the truth is that you can hardly give these flats away. A two-bedroom flat, bought for £215,000 in September 2005, recently sold at auction for £79,000; another went for £86,000. Nine others did not sell at all. “Live the dream,” said the promotion for these developments; wake up to the nightmare of negative equity.
One of the houses I went to see couple of weeks ago has been reduced by $35,000 in one shot. Current list price is $335,000. It started out at $370,000 and came down to $335,000 in a hurry.
1201 TRACIE DR
LAKE ZURICH, IL 60047
MLS ID# 06865689
What is so interesting about it, you may ask. Well this very same house sold for $335,000 in 2004! Lake zurich is one of the desired suburbs in NW chicago and at least within the area I am closely following the market, I am seeing the 2004 prices for the first time.
I went to look at this house few days ago. Needs lot of flooring, color and other updates. My best estimate, it may sell for around $300K - $310K in the current condition.
I know there are few posters from chicago here so thought would share my personal observations.
Any idea how condo’s in Arlington Glen are doing? Used to live there 8 years, ago. Nice enough places, and were cheap for Arlington Heights.
I am sorry but not sure where they are…I have heard of arbor glen apartments not sure about these codos though…
Arlington Glen Condominiums are at the intersections of Rand and Thomas/Willow, just south of Palatine Rd.
Bubbleboy,
I drove through Kildeer last weekend. Holy cow! Castle after castle of $1MM++ off Quentin… hundreds more than there used to be. Castles, people: cone-topped turrets, brick, and I’m sure one or two had a moat and drawbridge. My parents sold a house near there several years ago. They wouldn’t recognize the area.
Where on earth do all those people work where they can afford those? It would sure be an ugly commute to Chicago. Schaumburg, maybe? Or is Kemper (insurance) really doing THAT well?
you are 100% right. It is hard to believe that there will be so many high paying jobs/businesses in the surrounding areas. Plus I am not ready to buy that there is so much old money hanging around there as well. Lately I am seeing high end foreclosures and unfinished builder/spec houses or lots for sale in Hawthorn woods and Long grove as well
In general while driving through these burbs, even the 3 br/4br areas you will find at least two high end newer vehicles i.e. Lexus/Audi or mercedes or such other makes. Didn’t know that our economy was doing so good that people can afford to spend so much behind their vehicles on top of the mortgage they pay for their houses.
My local market observation:
there ain’t one…
No way, man. There’s oil shale in them thar hills!
Here’s an article from my local paper. Looks like being ‘landlocked’ isn’t all it was cracked up to be:
‘Sales of single-family homes in greater Flagstaff region for the month of May were up 12 percent when compared to last year. A total of 74 homes sold in May compared with 42 sold in April. But not surprisingly, the May’s median sale price of $356,500 — half sold for more, half for less — is down 11 percent from the May 2007 peak of nearly $400,000 for a single family home.’
‘The lower median price from a year ago may reflect the fact buyers are interested in smaller homes — the median-sized home on the market is more than 300 square feet bigger than those that sold in May and the asking price is $100,000 more.’
‘Stephen Brighton, a Realtor with Century 21 Metro Alliance, suggests savvy buyers are connecting with sellers who are pricing their homes reasonably — those willing to give up the dream of getting the peak sale prices for their home that were common in 2005 and 2006.’
‘Sellers are really beginning to understand they can sell their homes this season if they are willing to come down in pricing,’ Brighton said.’
‘But Brighton admits some sellers can’t bring the price down enough to attract buyers, noting those sellers owe their lenders more than the house is now worth.’
‘Susan Eckhart, president of Northern Arizona Association of Realtors…suggests those homes sit idle because stubborn homeowners refuse to bring down their asking price. ‘It shows what has sold and what is still on the market,’ Eckhart said.’
‘Jim Snook, a real estate broker in Flagstaff, said he believes location is also playing a role in recent home sales, noting homes in Bellemont, Doney Park and Munds Park are slow to sell. ‘The rural market is definitely having some issues,’ he said.’
‘He suggests that with $4-a-gallon gas buyers are reluctant to buyer a home 20 miles away from Flagstaff. He the said the problem becomes more pronounced the farther away homes are from the city core. ‘The price of gas is an issue, if we are talking about an SUV that is a gallon of gas each way,’ he said.’
Ben, this gas thing is going to change the entire way Western towns operate. Tourism - that’s a big no can do. Commuting from the outback to your job, ditto. Towns in my part of the West were typically about 60 miles apart, as that was the reach of a service area before things got sticky. Now, who knows? 20 miles out may become a hardship.
this gas thing is going to change the entire way Western towns operate. Especially those towns that were settled after automobile travel became popular.
Maybe Joe Leaphorn from the Navajo Tribal Police won’t be driving down to Flagstaff as often as he used to, from Tuba City. Did he not have a girlfriend at the university in Flagstaff? (Or maybe it was the other guy. Talking about fiction by Tony Hillerman here).
Cultural anthropologist girlfriend I believe.
I wonder how much of the Navajo rez will even be inhabitable when gas stays over $5/gallon. At one time some houses had to had their water supply trucked in. The tribe can’t afford to run phone lines over much of it. In April the tribe lost its satellite internet service due to not paying its bill on time. There’s a lot of coal on that rez. The tribe could invest in coal gasification plants, but their record on high tech investments isn’t that good.
Are any reservations really inhabitable?
Here guys, have all this land that is coincidentally devoid of any water!
The only one I know of that is is the Catawba Reservation in SC. And it gets it’s water from the city of Rock Hill. Of course the reservation has only been around since the early 1990’s.
Doesn’t WI have a nice one?
The Shinnecock reservation on Long Island is lovely.
Love Hillerman…It’s almost time to break out the series and re-read them.
didn’t much care for his last two novels though.
Moqui,
A Thief In Time was my favorite by Hillerman.
Most reservations were unwanted by white men gov types in the 1800s. Hence the reason they were assigned those locations.
in=of
Delinquency Rate Rising on Alaska Mortgages
Anchorage Daily News
June 11, 2008
Although Alaska’s mortgage delinquency rate is one of the nation’s lowest, it is rising faster than any other state’s, according to an analysis by TransUnion, a credit-management firm…with a 28% growth from previous quarters. California’s 25% growth and Nevada’s 24% growth came next.
***
More proof that while Anchorage might have been late to the party, we’re not so different here after all. The only question in my mind is how deep and how long the shafting will be.
I found this on the county recorder site here in San Diego.
8532#89 SUMMERDALE RD $190000 311 - 200 - 40 - 89 05/13/2008
We used to rent the place upstairs from it a few years back at $950/MO and know it previously sold in 2004 for $289K so this was almost certainly a foreclosure.
By 2005 some of the same model condos were selling at a peak of $350K, and have most likely all since been foreclosed on. Would love to have access to property history records on some of these…
In my area Victorville Ca. price are at 2004 prices they are done about 35%. However I still believe we got another 20% to go that’s when we will be appraching 2000 prices.
From Atlantic City,NJ, area: Neighbor I have yet really to meet is about 75, seems able to work well with his hands, probably will live to 100. Anyway, about one month ago, he started overhaul of his backyard, putting in some kind of terraced rock garden with hundreds of cinder block looking, 4″x4″s replacing the lawn. These blocks are being set meticulously by 40ish guy who is out there from 8 ’til 8 everyday; one or two others join him occasionally. My wife and another neighbor were admiring work; wife asked neighbor where the old guy found the mason/bricklayer. Neighbor said old guy hung around a few construction sites up in Atlantic City over the winter, liked the 40ish guy’s work, and told him to call when work with developers dried up. As I said, he’s been out there a month, cuting some kind of block with a saw even as I type. With guys of this quality freelancing, I think the day laborer/ jack of all trades types might have to find another line of work.
You know, that’s how it used to be, you could hire someone who did high-quality work and took pride in it.
That was a smart thing to do - hanging around sites to see who did the best work. gotta remember that.
I am thinking of paying the penalty and getting out of my CD’s early at the IndyMac Bank.
I am very concerned about this class action lawsuit.
I am also concerned as IndyMac never mailed me the signature cards for my joint account, I have found out that without those signatures and in the event of bank failure I would lose all of the interest for this joint account.
I only have until Aug 01 for the maturity on the CD’s should I get out now and pay the penalty or do you think I would be ok to wait?
Anyone??
Follow your intuition, it’s telling you something for a reason.
I agree with Lost, SKB and what is your comfort level? Maybe hoz or txchick can help you with this also.
“I have found out that without those signatures and in the event of bank failure I would lose all of the interest for this joint account.”
FDIC will cover each of you up to $100K (a little more in certain retirement accounts). If you have more than $100K, you need that signature card ASAP. If under that amount, you’re already okay.
FDIC will cover accrued interest, as long as P+I < $100K pp total.
http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/insuringdeposits/index.html
What is the penalty? Around here its pretty steep. If that’s the case, get the sig card signed, wait the six weeks and then find a new home for the money. Your six weeks will be up long before this class action is over.
I called earlier and requested the cards, I wonder why I was never sent them in the first place.
The penalty would be one month simple interest.
Hanging out in the city of angles for the weekend…
It’s fun to make eye contact with drivers of the brobdingnagians (Suburban-Expedition-Hummer-et al) on the freeways.
I threw many a lip snarl their way~
I threw many a lip snarl You’ll never get anyone to stop & pick you up that way!
Locksmith Mitchell’s words tell me that houses in Missouri are stripped more often than not, once foreclosed upon…
“Lately, Mitchell has been changing locks on two or three foreclosed homes per week, making sure previous homeowners who have been evicted can’t back get in. ‘We don’t want the owners going back in to strip the houses out,’ said Mitchell.”
Yeah like your cheap lock on a paper door will keep them out
ATLANTA:
WhooHoo!!! We are now 2nd only to the Inland Empire in commute times & costs. It doesn’t seem to deter the Aimless Ones from continuing their Gilligan’s Island driving tours to nowhere during rush hour.
The NAR numbers for median house prices in Atlanta that they have touted for years may also be suspect ( a la the Boston house sales #). The NAR keeps saying how “affordable” Atlanta is, with median house prices of about $168K. The median list ing price has been holding at around $219K for quite a while. I haven’t heard of many 25% haircuts on sales prices except for REO houses. Perhaps the NAR “forgot” to count the sales prices for the north side of town, and is only including the low end south side in its calculations.
Nothing much is selling, and my industry insider gossip friends are being omniously quiet.
Oops re: NAR–I meant a la NJ, not Boston. Guess my southern gobment eddication failed me by not teaching enough about Yankee places.
The NY Times’s delicately spun Sunday piece reluctantly admits that condos are not selling and turning into rentals:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/realestate/15cov.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
For the less advertising-cowed approach, see the NY Sun:
http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/credit-crunch-turns-condos-into-rentals/79861
My wife and I met my parents halfway between Sacramento (our home) and Marin (their home) at Amici’s Pizza in Vacaville for an early Father’s Day celebration. It’s in the newer part of the Nut Tree strip malls (opposite side of the highway from the outlet malls).
It seemed like every other storefront was vacant. Some have never been occupied in the 18 months or so that this new strip mall has been open (I think that they call it Phase Three). There’s a mini-amusement park. When it opened, you used to be able to walk around and just pay for tickets if you wanted to ride the rides. Now, it’s a small cover fee to get in.
I’ve never seen the parking lot so empty. There was no wait for a table at the pizza restaurant (in the past we’ve waited 20-30 minutes for a table on a Saturday afternoon–it’s very good pizza).
On our way back, we noted that the Ikea parking lot in West Sacramento seemed rather empty. Again, when that place opened a few years ago, it could take 10-15 minutes to find a parking spot.
I don’t do a lot of shopping and earlier this year it seemed like there was still a relatively normal flow in local malls. But today it was the first time since maybe the early 1990s that a major recession was obviously upon us by the lack of retail activity.
Xmas is going to be an absolute bitch.
Is the old nut tree still there? Last time I was there it was shut down. My family used to stop there when I was a kid on the way back from trips to Tahoe.
Xmas is going to be an absolute bitch.
Oh, the horror! - facing perhaps the most venerated and meaningful holiday in Christendom without being able to max out the credit cards on crap we don’t need and can’t afford. An absolute bitch? Not in my household.
Montanans — in case you missed my late post yesterday:
We still live in a non-disclosure state.
Thanks to Dept of Revenue Director Dan Bucks, sales prices must now be written on the realty transfer certificate filed with the MT Dept of Revenue. But the realty transfer certificate is not public info.
“The legislature finds that the demands of individual privacy outweigh the merits of public disclosure.” http://law.justia.com/montana/codes/15/15-7-308.html
According to one of the property assessment experts at the Dept of Revenue, in the last 10 years, there have been some court cases challenging this, but the court has always upheld the Code. So, for prices to become public, the legislature would have to change the Code.
Even without disclosure, things are not looking too peachy in MT these days. According to the Missoula Org of Realtors, median prices in Missoula fell more than 6% in April and more than 3% in May, with volume down 17% in April and 31% in May (all figures are compared to same month last year). http://www.missoularealestate.com/index.php/fuseaction/market.main/ID/0d95f240
Finally some excitement to report from Seattle, WA. I now have several coworkers who can’t sell their houses; quite the change from 2 years ago, when all they could talk about is “How is my house worth now? What about now?”
Prices still have a while to go, but are dropping. One coworker’s neighborhood peaked late last year at $750k (Trossachs, Sammamish), can they’re currently 20+ houses lingering on the market for $670k - $700k. I.e. real market value likely around $650k until the first knifecatcher comes. Pricing in 2003 was $450k - $500k; nothing has sold in the neighborhood in 5 months.
Good on ya, Seattle! Colleague of mine bought (at the peak) in the Sammamish area since, as he put it, 20% gain on $600K is much better than on $300K (the house he bought previously)!!
20% OFF is much more painful than on $300K, as well! And losses have been greater on higher priced homes it seems as people scramble for something they can actually afford….
Aye, if their were only more frozen trout to go around….
Coworker told me of his dream home which is now rented out and his deceased mom told him never to sell this house, he also has dream condo with views in Chicago.
He had wanted to sell his ´”dream home” but listened to deceased moms wishes. I held back from telling him..the end of the story, or as the Rooney character on 60 minutes says..
now the rest of the story…
I did tell him, pick which one you will let go. And stop paying.
I also overly stressed NOT to recarpet the rental home as if he were living in it. His lover apparently told him the same thing.
Well, maybe he will listen. Egos are a hard thing to overcome.
Has anyone got any feedback on the Finger Lakes region of New York state? I am looking to repatriate back to the U.S.A. and I’d like to live in or near a college town like Ithaca. How soon will the market crack, if not already in nearby towns?
CarrieAnn would know. If she doesn’t post today, repost your question tomorrow. It’s Father’s Day, and she may be out for the day.
My observation from 60 miles east of Portland is that the delusion is running thick everywhere with every new listing. I read about it everyday on the HBB, but it still shocks me when I see it in person.
The formula seems to be:
asking price = peak price * 1.2^x (where x = number of years since the peak)
no matter the market. Even though previous sellers most likely had to drop their prices, new-ish listings are at 20-30% above two years ago.
Your neighbor listed at $450K and sold for $400K and you think those laws don’t apply so you list at $620K?? What are these people thinking??
Of the houses I saw, I wouldn’t pay $300K let alone $600K+ in a wannabe mountain community 40 miles from the nearest mountain.
Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California. This is a very picturesque island. There are only two areas with services, most of the island is under the control of the conservancy.
Spent my 22nd aniv there this past weekend….Lots of people coming over on the ferry boats but the town cleared out in the evening. It really seemed like people are going on budget vacations. Rather than staying overnight, eating at the restaurants and running up bar tabs, they are bringing coolers and sack lunches with them for the day.
Couple of observations;
I overheard a shop owner complaining that people are only browsing - No body seems to buy anything. My wife heard one owner talking to another island local about not hiring the seasonal summer help this year.
I stopped at a dive shop and told them I might be interested but I’d rather go down with a buddy or an instructor. I told them I might swing back by. About and hour later we’re walking in front of the same dive shop, the owner recognizes me and comes out to tell me that the they called in the instructor to wait at the shop in case I wanted to dive. I had three people helping get my gear fitted. After the dive they practically begged me to go out again. Being a wuss, I again told them I might stop by later on. I really hope they didn’t wait for me this time!
Saturday evening we walked into Antonio’s, an Italian restaurant overlooking the harbor. The place was deserted - maybe 20% full at prime dinner time. I struck up a conversation with a very pleasant bar tender (whom I think was a partner) He said he is very scared right now. He confirmed my observation of lots of day tourist but everyone returns to the mainland in the evening. He said by June the hotels and restaurants are usually packed on the weekends.
Two Real Estate offices that I noticed, one had an office in the “metrolope” market place. I walked by there several time on Saturday and both times the lights were out and the doors locked. They could’ve been on open houses but why put an office in the prime retail area if you don’t accommodate walk-ins?
The only hint of declining prices came from a restaurant owner who said his uncle has 3 homes on the market for over a year now, one just went in escrow after a price drop of 150K. I should’ve asked more but the guy looked agitated about the property values. My wife knows I can really go off on these speculators so she nudged me to shut up.
The harbor has private buoys that come up for sale every once in a while. I spoke with a local who said he paid 110K for a 30′ spot last year. He said that a 70′ spot recently went for 2.2M. I gathered these buoys trade by the good ol’ boy system and are seldom offered to outsiders.
moqui
–
Prices back to Pre-Bubble?
$119,900; 3 Bed, 1.75 Bath; 1,260 Sq. Ft.; 0.33 Acres
29431 Fawn Way; Tehachapi, CA 93561
MLS ID# 9956980
http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=2&sdir=1&zp=93561&ml=3&mnp=18&mxp=38&bd=2&bth=2&typ=1&sid=68af90a2013e41e1b473b7ea8bc3937a&pg=1&lid=1098529512&lsn=1&srcnt=502
I vaguely remember this house, or some nearby, when I drove around this gated part of Tehachapi in 2003, pre-bubble era in Tehachapi. The listing price was higher than the current. Anyway, the average listing price in Tehachapi during 2003 was $96/sqft and in early 2005 it was double to $192/sqft. Most listing prices are still way too high compared to 2003 and the above listing is not a representative.
Jas
The local Central New York papers have done a dismal job of reporting the real truth about the Syracuse real estate market. The local writer is clearly in the pocket of the Real Estate organizations. Their bullshit propaganda will definitely harm some buyers. Houses in Syracuse above 350K are not much selling. The inventory of unsold homes keeps on increasing. These shills are on a mission to dupe would-be buyers. Look at the ways they report below.
Local home prices are holding fairly steady, but the pace of home sales is another matter. We’re lagging behind last year’s rate.
“We find it fairly stable,” said broker David Manzano, president of the association.
The average home sold during May had spent 61 days on the market, down from an average of 73 days in April.
http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/stories/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1213261156231590.xml&coll=1
“The Village” at King Harbor, Redondo Beach (90277) now has one 400 square foot 1 bedroom ocean view selling for a price under $300,000 (the NAR web site http://www.realtor.com).
Its http://www.zillow.com value has not been that low since late 2004. That means its price is still too high. Let’s see 2002 prices.
An example from Naples, Long Beach CA
76 Via Di Roma Walk
Listed 08/11/07 $1,169.500
Closed 06/14/08 $ 750,000
I guess the blonde realty whore who works the area couldn’t find a FB to BS into the house in August.
It’s special in Naples!
Reading the Aspen Daily News, hardcopy, for yest. June 14, an ad that says, “Real estate markets may rise or fall…the economy may be unpredictable…” etc. etc. Seems like the RE people in Aspen are getting worried.
And on the next page, an article with the headline, “Foreclosure filings surge 48%” (not Aspen, nationally).
Lots of RE ads, some with price reduced. And in other news, Vail pulled out of the Colo. Ski Country consortium, putting their marketing budget in a panic, laying off 5 PR people, going to internet only. This group has been big on print ads for the Colo ski areas for may years, things are slowing down maybe.
Been driving on the freeways of L.A. the past few days and must have had 100 motorcycles split lanes between me and the next car…
Maybe i’d have seen 5 motorcycles do that a few years ago
I’ve noticed this as well.
My older brother, a Californian, and I were chatting on the phone the other day. He mentioned that his girlfriend, a mortgage broker, is interested in doing loans in TX and thought that if I knew some RE people I could get them to send some business her way.
Said girlfriend (who I’ve never met) is under stress since “everyone in So Cal is underwater on their houses, so she doesn’t have any business.” And apparently WF is very bullish on TX - considers there not to have been a bubble here, there’s not going to be a bust here, they want to loan big time here.
GF is enthusiastic about TX. Looked on the internet and saw that “the $700,000 houses would go for $2 million in So Cal.” And apparently, in TX one can make larger loans relative to the price of the house than in CA. (Now is that because lending standards, or WF lending standards have changed in CA since the bust in a way that they haven’t in TX?)
In the end my brother agreed with me that TX isn’t different from CA, just behind in the ride on the same curve.
But I hate to hear the WF analysis of the TX market, and that any company wants to lend aggressively here. Austin is already so f****d, and I just want it to stop before every single tree and nice place has been destroyed to build overpriced condos and McMansions.
A report from LA area.
Did a long tour thru westside area the entire seaside resort strip from marina del rey to malibu. Not so much interested in housing as how the local economy is faring and the size of crowds on a mid-june weekend . Definitely less traffic on the westside -even the PCH traffic from santa monica to malibu not as busy as past normal weekends . Local areas such as venice beach and Santa Monica 3 st prominade are crowded as ever but i suspect they are mostly local area walkers or cyclists avoiding using their cars. Also went to old hollywood tourist trap area near Graumens Chineses and kodak threater- lots of crowds but area still tacky as ever and mostly a low class local crowd.
Driving thru wilshire blvd , santa monica blvd and sunset strip on Sat at 6 pm thru bev hills and west hollywood traffic definitely down, and i saw some boarded up hi-end retailers in this super hi-end area of westside. This is usually a crowded hi-traffic area of westside and on a weekend nice early summer day it should be packed . It being so light in traffic tells me the gas prices and recession are hitting the vaunted westside along with disappearance of easy heloc money.
Note: i put in $30.00 in gas to do a 120 mile jaunt all over LA city and westside in a 4 cyn pu. Pretty reasonable i think. Traffic definitely off taking the PCH coast rte up thru malibu on a gorgeous sat sunny day in early summer.
The great killer of summer consumer spending and travel will be gas & energy prices.
Blatant dishonest from realtors in New Jersey.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/nj_home_sales_plunged_30_perce.html
Thank you for that.
>> One looked at the wider trend, “Does anyone see mass debt forgiveness out there on the horizon?”
The free lunch is over. It turns out that to pay for it, nobody sold off bonds.
They bought oil.
We currently have 105 lots on the Pullman MLS. At least based upon the MLS, not a single lot has sold in the last 5 months, 4 are currently pending but 3 of those 4 have been pending since Feb (can’t get financing).
BUT a new subdivision is now being advertised (really just a new phase) with lots listed at $20k/lot more than the previous phase right next door (50% of the lots unsold after two years on the market). Justification from the realtor: “we are trying new ideas and new builders so this really is something new for Pullman.” What is new? Granite countertops, hardiplank siding, yadda, yadda… and $400k list prices. Good luck with that!
Again from the Realtor: “I’m an optimist. I really believe that if you build it, they will come.” Hard to believe anyone can say that today with a straight face.
Groundhog,
Been up to Spoke-tucky (Spokane) lately? What’s going on up there?
We had a Spokane roofer recently apply for every single position open at WSU. He applied for faculty positions in every college, temp clerical, EVERYTHING… all with the same resume, by the way, telling us what a great roofer and hard worker he is, how he can work in all weather conditions, etc…
That tells you all you need to know about the new home market in Spokane.
There is very little evidence of open house activity this weekend around my hood (92127 Rancho Bernardo West) — almost like the used home sales people have thrown in the towel for this year.
On ziprealty.com, I am seeing for the first time single family residences in our zip code listed substantially below $300,000. I am surprised some investor does not come in and snap up these bargains, before real estate starts going up again. These homes don’t sound spectacular, but three years ago, there were no SFRs on ziprealty.com in our zip code listed below $400,000 (or was it $500,000?)…
17081 WEST BERNARDO DR #102 SD - Rancho Bernardo, 92127
$224,777 - $249,777
Beds: 3 | Baths: 2 | Sq. Ft.: 1,040 | Lot Size: N/A
Year Built: 1994 | Listing Date: 11/21/07
Description: Seller will entertain offers between $224,777-$249,777. Super easey aces located on the 1st… more
17225 CAMINITO CANASTO SD - Rancho Bernardo, 92127
$249,000 - $249,000
Beds: 2 | Baths: 2 | Sq. Ft.: 1,100 | Lot Size: N/A
Year Built: 1973 | Listing Date: 05/09/08
Description: Great single level end unit next to greenbelt. Attached garage, indoor laundry, flat top range,… more
11329 AVENIDA DE LOS LOBOS #G SD - Rancho Bernardo, 92127
$260,000 - $260,000
Beds: 3 | Baths: 2 | Sq. Ft.: 1,230 | Lot Size: N/A
Year Built: 1990 | Listing Date: 11/06/07
Description: Ss,subject to lender approval,including comm.2 offers submitted 4/23 accepting backups.Incredible… more