Bi-Costal Home Sales & Values Down
According to the National Association of Realtors® existing-home sales in the Northeast declined 2.8% to a level of 1.04 million in December, and were 5.5% below December 2005. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $283,000, up 3.7% from a year earlier.
Existing-home sales in the West fell 9.1% to an annual pace of 1.20 million in December and were 15.5% lower than a year ago. The median price in the West was $349,000, up 1.5% from December 2005.[tags] home sales, home values, real estate, real estate values, real estate market [/tags] downtown San Diego condos
December Home Sales Nation Wide See Biggest Drop Since 1989
Sales of existing homes fell in December, closing out a year in which demand for homes slumped by the largest amount since 1989.
The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 0.8 percent last month to a 6.22 million annual rate, a bigger decline than had been expected.
For the year, sales dropped 8.4 percent to 6,480,000 homes, the biggest annual decline since 1989, when existing home sales fell 14.8 percent. In 2005, 7,075,000 existing homes were sold. [tags]home sales, real estate, housing market, real estate sales, real estate market, real estate bubble [/tags] San Diego MLS
Bicoastal Housing Recession Forecast By UCSD Economist
Ross Starr, a UCSD economist who watches the local housing market closely, said a “bicoastal housing recession” has developed in previously hot markets, including Southern California, South Florida and Las Vegas. He cited sagging home-builder stocks, construction cutbacks affecting employment and lower new-home prices, although the new home median here last month increased from September. “The bubble’s burst,” he said. “There’s a big difference between that and a U.S. recession but real estate is a big piece of investment and it’s investment that drives changes in gross domestic product. So the conventional view is the U.S. economy will continue to grow but will grow real slowly because the housing sector is contracting.”
For San Diego, Starr said the year-over-year pricing trends confirms his thoughts about a localized housing recession. [tags] housing, housing market, recession, San Diego housing, San Diego, San Diego real estate[/tags] San Diego real estate agent
HOME MORTGAGE LOAN APPLICATION VOLUME FALLS
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 611.3 for the week ending Jan. 19, down 8.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 667.2 one week earlier, The Mortgage Bankers Association reported today. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 5.7 percent for the week ending Jan. 19 compared with the previous week and was up 3.8 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 47.8 percent of total applications for the week ending Jan. 19 from 49.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 20.3 percent of total applications from 21.2 percent the previous week. [tags] home loans, mortgage, loans, home mortgage [/tags] real estate downtown San Diego
30-Year Mortgage Rates Rise to 9-Week High
News of a second consecutive monthly increase in home construction, along with other favorable economic reports, helped push rates on 30-year mortgages to an average of 6.23 percent this week — the highest level in nine weeks, according to analysts.
A week ago, 30-year fixed loans averaged 6.21 percent, according to mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac. The improving performance of the economy means the Federal Reserve will be less likely to cut interest rates any time soon. [tags] mortgage rates, loan rates, home loans, interest rates [/tags] downtown San Diego condos
San Diego Real Estate Buyer Incentives
Below is a typical advertisement mailed to San Diego real estate agents. I've hidden the project name and cut off the address and exterior/interior photos. I have also pointed out with red circles and arrows the huge incentives offered to move unsold inventory.
The average agent co-op commission is 2%. Just two years ago it was hard to find any new construction where they were offering any commission! Now, the highest I've seen is 6%! On the top left of the ad below, you'll notice they are offering 5% commission!
For buyers it's even better, with HOA dues paid for one year and a $10,000 incentive on a $319,900 sale! Keep in mind, this is NOT an isolated example, but quite the norm here in San Diego real estate sales.
Are these great opportunities? They very well may be if our market turns around this spring. If not, many of today's 'great buys' could be worth a lot less a year from now! [tags] San Diego condos, San Diego real estate, real estate market, California real estate, home sales, San Diego housing, real estate bubble [/tags] San Diego condos
California Real Estate Stats
Calif. median home price – November 06: $555,290 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region November 06:
Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,083,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region November 06:
High Desert $332,340 (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates – week ending 1/11:
30-yr. fixed: 6.21%; Fees/points: 0.4%
15-yr. fixed: 5.96%; Fees/points: 0.4%
1-yr. adjustable: 5.44%; Fees/points: 0.5%
(Source: Freddie Mac)[tags] California real estate, California mortgage rates, CA real estate, CA home values, California home values [/tags] downtown San Diego condos
Both Home Prices and Sales Continue to Fall in San Diego
La Jolla, California-based DataQuick said today in a press release that the number of homes sold in Southern California fell 22 percent last month from a year earlier, to the lowest number in a December in 11 years, even as the median price for a home sold in the region reached a new high,
A total of 22,485 new and existing single-family houses and condominium units were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, down from 28,952 a year earlier,. Last month's sales figure was the lowest for any December since 1995, when 19,202 homes were sold.
Prices rose last month in every county except Ventura, where they dropped 5.9 percent, and San Diego, where they fell 6.4 percent. San Diego County's home sales began to decline 19 months ago, and its median price peaked in November 2005 at $518,000, DataQuick said. The county's median price last month was $483,000. The monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home in Southern California at current interest rates was $2,265 last month, the same as in the previous month and up from $2,255 a year earlier, according to DataQuick. [tags] San Diego home prices, real estate, California real estate, real estate market, home values, home sales, real estate values, housing market, CA housing, CA home sales[/tags] San Diego real estate homes
New Home Mortgage Originations to drop through 2008
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America a Washington, D.C.-based trade group said it expects the total value of new mortgages and refinanced mortgages to drop 5 percent this year to $2.39 trillion from $2.51 trillion in 2006.
The association projected a further drop of 4 percent to $2.29 trillion in 2008 as refinancings weaken.
Total originations had declined 17 percent in 2006 from more than $3 trillion in 2005, a near-record year. [tags]mortgage, mortgage loans, home loans, refinanced mortgages, home mortgages[/tags] San Diego homes
San Diego Homeowners Forced to Offer Incentives
The negative side of this market, is that many individual home sellers are being forced to follow the lead of the new home developers and offering buyers incentives to facilitate the sale. In todays market, payment of all, or the majority of the buyer’s closing costs is very common. So, our home prices are being artificially distorted, because the buyer’s incentives are not taken into consideration by the firms that just track the recorded sales prices. San Diego real estate sales [tags] San Diego real estate, CA real estate sales, real estate market, home sales, home values [/tags]