A Daily Shot of News

The Ocean Beach real estate market, a subsidiary of the larger San Diego County housing market, continued to rally in the past several months. According to a May 25, 2010 article in the Voice of San Diego, “There’s no doubt housing prices have come roaring back this year. New numbers released this morning showed San Diego County home prices rose again in March – marking the 11^th straight month they’ve been headed up.” The piece, composed by Kelly Bennett, went on to state that “Local prices rose 10.8 percent between March last year and this March – when buyers scrambled into the market to take advantage of an expiring federal tax credit. That was the second largest increase in any of the 20 cities measured in the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index, a closely watched indicator for the housing market. On a month-to-month basis, March’s prices showed an increase of 1.5 percent from February.”

The increase in median price for Ocean Beach homes for sale sent the average price to the highest level in more than a year and a half. According to a June 14, 2010 article from the San Diego Union-Tribune, “San Diego County home prices, which were falling at double-digit rates a year ago, are now rising rapidly as investors grab the last remaining bargains and upper-end buyers find deals to their liking: MDA DataQuick reported Monday that the May median price stood at $340,000, up 4.5 percent from April and up 15.3 percent from a year ago.” The piece, composed by Roger Showley, continued to note that “It as the eighth straight month of year-over-year increases. ‘Across the board, it looks like almost everything is off the bottom,’ said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. ‘A lot of places are up a little from a year ago.’”

The improving economy of the state of California should provide an additional boost to the Ocean Beach housing market. According to a June 15, 2010 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, “The California economy is headed for a two-track recovery, with San Diego and the coastal regions coming out of the recession far ahead of the rest of the state, according to a report released Monday by UCLA’s Anderson Forecast.”

The Balboa Island real estate market, part of the larger Newport Beach and Orange County housing markets, is showing generally positive indicators despite a lukewarm jobs forecast. According to a June 3, 2010 article from the Orange County Business Journal, “Orange County isn’t expected to start adding jobs until 2011, according to a midyear economic forecast update released by Chapman University Thursday. Economists at the university in Orange now expect a 1.2% drop in employment for nearly 18,000 jobs lost in 2010, a sharp pullback from the 1,000 job gain it predicted in December.” The piece, written by Julie Leupold, continued to note that “Job losses are expected to give way to hiring in 2011 with a ‘weak but sustained recovery, according to Chapman. The report projects 1.5% job growth, or 21,000 new workers, by the end of next year.”

The average price of a Balboa island home for sale is projected to increase within the same time period, according to a June 3, 2010 article from the Orange County Register. This piece noted that “Chapman U. professors are out with their semiannual economic forecast for Orange County! Here’s what they said about home prices: After price losses for Orange County single-family homes – by their math that’s tied to resale medians – of 0.9% in 2007; 23.2% in 2008; and 12.3% in 2009…O.C. prices will rise 6% in 2010 and 5.3% in 2011. (Or a combined 11.6% gain in 2 years!).” The piece, posted by Jon Lansner, continued to say that “Homebuyer earning the median family income and buying a median-priced single-family home in 2009 needed to spend 30.5% of income to pay for the interest, principal and property taxes vs. 51.3% in 2007.”

This strength in the Balboa Island market was reflected in more than two-thirds of the rest of Orange County, according to a June 4, 2010 article in the Orange County Register. This piece noted that “For the 22 business days ending May 18 – DataQuick’s freshest stats – Orange County homebuying patterns showed: 59 of O.C.’s 83 ZIP codes had gains in their respective median selling prices. Overall, prices were +12.8% vs. a year ago.”

Some sectors of the Santa Cruz real estate market are starting to rebound from record lows, although there remain significant weaknesses in the region’s economic climate. According to a May 3, 2010 article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “The county’s once hot commercial real estate market has cooled considerably, with nearly a million square feet of office space empty at the start of the year and asking rates dropping compared to a year ago. The market hasn’t hit the 1 million mark since 2004, according to Cassidy Turley BT Commercial, which reviews the data for Santa Cruz County quarterly.” The piece by Jondi Gumz went on to say that “University of the Pacific economist Jeffrey Michael predicts a slow five-year recovery for the state, with Silicon Valley showing early signs of growth. His forecast says sustained business investment is needed to sustain the recovery against forces such as state and local government cuts, foreclosures, and tight credit conditions.”

One important indicator of the health of the market, the average price of a Santa Cruz home for sale, rallied strongly in the month of April. According to a May 24, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “Santa Cruz County saw fewer single-family homes sold in April compared to a year ago, but the median price rebounded from $420,000 to $553,000, the highest in 20 months, as distress sales dipped. Two years ago, the midpoint of what sold was $661,000.” The article by Jondi Gumz went on to say that “There were 121 sales in April, with 43 percent selling for under $500,000, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers.”

One general indicator of the entire Santa Cruz economy, not just the Santa Cruz real estate market, the jobless rate, recovered somewhat in April 2010. According to a May 21, 2010 article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Santa Cruz County added 2,000 jobs in April, cutting unemployment from 15.2 percent to 13.5 percent, the state Employment Development Department said Friday, but job growth was less than usual for this time of year. The local jobless rate is higher than California’s, which is 12.3 percent, and the nation’s 9.5 percent.”

An unincorporated community in San Diego County, 4S Ranch, California, is east of Santa Fe Valley and home to some high-profile residents, like pro sports stars. The community has miles of paths and trails connecting it to shops, parks and schools, attracting those looking for a more secluded lifestyle, and leading 4S Ranch real estate to be rather expensive since it is in high demand but with only a limited supply.

In March, according to the San Diego Union Tribute Zip Code Real Estate Chart, there were 26 resell homes sold in 4S Ranch, and the homes were sold for a median price of $720,000, up 2.9% from a year prior. The market for resell condos in the community was much more robust: There were 20 condos sold in the community during March at a median price of $311,000, an improvement of 54.5% year-over-year.

The median price per square foot in March of 4S Ranch homes for sale was $239 per square foot, up 8.3% from just $221 per square foot in 2009. The price per square foot for condos saw an annual improvement as well. It stood at $262 per square foot, up 13.7% from March 2009, when it was just $231 per square foot.

For all of the year 2009, 4S Ranch saw 342 resell single-family homes sold, at a median price of $700,000, down a slight 6.7% year-over-year. There were 243 condo sales on the year at a median price of $288,000, up 2.9% from the previous year, and there were even 124 sales of new homes, which came in at a median price of $539,000, down 11.1% annually. All total, there were 709 residential properties sold in 4S Ranch, and altogether they had a median price of $510,000, down nearly 18% from the end of 2008, showing that the year 2010 has left plenty of room for the market to improve and rebound from 2009.

A mid-sized city of more than 35,000, Dana Point, California, is located in the famed Orange County in southern California. It is home to one of Orange County’s few harbors, and many of its home lie near or along the coast, offering majestic oceanfront views. Much of the Dana Point harbor is open to the public and used like a park, popular for talking walks and taking in beautiful sunsets. Dana Point has a moderately well-to-do populace, as seen by its median annual household income level of around $83,000. The market for Dana Point real estate has suffered some setbacks since the advent of the economic recession in the U.S., and ended 2009 on a sour note, with home prices overall down year-over-year.

According to the Orange County Register’s monthly zip code chart, the city’s two zip codes saw median sales prices at the end of 2009 register $530,000 and $625,000, declines of 16% and 14%, respectively. Despite declines in prices in both zip codes, both areas also saw an increase in sales as new buyers rushed in to snatch up some of the deals waiting to be had. There were 75 sales in the first zip code and 350 sales in the second for all of 2009, increases in total yearly sales volume by 7% and 20%, respectively.

According to the Orange County Register’s annual zip code chart, in March 2010, the city of Dana Point saw encouraging signs, with median home prices of $542,500 and $610,000 in its two zip codes, up 12.5% and 23%, respectively. The first zip code saw just four homes sold in the month, down 55%, but the second saw 36 homes sold for a 71% annual increase in monthly volume.

Even more recently, in a three-week period ended April 21, the city saw mixed signals between zip codes according to the Orange County Register’s Real Estate Blog, which tracks the data regularly. The first zip code saw a median price during this three-week period of $545,00, a 29% decrease, with seven homes sold, unchanged from a year earlier, while the city’s second zip code saw more positive statistics with a median price of $662,500 for Dana Point homes for sale, a 26% increase, along with sales volume of 32 homes sold, a rise by 23% annually.

A mid-sized city of about 50,000 in the inland, desert Coachella valley, Indio, California, is in Riverside County about 125 miles east of L.A. After the credit crisis set in and began pummeling real estate markets across the country, the market for Indio real estate was dragged into the mess. It was hurt in 2008 and continued to see struggles throughout 2009, with prices nearly a quarter of what they were in the previous year. Nonetheless, 2010 shows plenty of room for improvement and early signs show this year may be the time for the market to slowly dig out of the hole its in.

In 2009, Indio saw 1,262 homes sold, the most of any city in the Coachella Valley, according to The Desert Real Estate Report’s statistics. The sales volume was encouraging, up 10% from 2008’s activity levels as the lower home prices allowed many buyers who were previously priced out of the market to seize up the lower-priced Indio real estate. The prices of Indio’s homes, however, showed continued signs of struggle. The yearly median price was $180,000, a full 20% lower than 2008’s median and the third-lowest median in the valley area. The annual average price, at just over $188,000, was off more than 25% year-over-year. This was typical of the Coachella Valley, as other cities saw prices fall by anywhere from 11% to 32%.

Despite those factors, early 2010 showed improvement in the Indio market. The month of February saw the city’s median price rise to $188,000, an increase over the same period last year, when it was just $180,000. February also accounted for a healthy number of sales, with 165 homes sold, according to MDA DataQuick Information Systems’ state statistics.

The condo market in Indio remained stuck with falling prices in February, however. The median price for an Indio condo in February was $50,000, down 10.6% from a year ago and down 16.7% from January. The average price for condos, however, was $80,300, a 17.1% improvement on the year prior. The condo statistics were based on nine condos sold in the month, an increase in activity of 28% from a year ago and besting January’s sales figures my 80%.

The Sacramento real estate market is facing mixed signals as signs indicate that the nationwide economic recession may finally be coming to a close. One positive indicator is a recent drop in foreclosures, according to a February 16, 2010 article in the Sacramento Business Journal. The piece noted that “Notices of default declined in the four-county region last month, but the number of banks who received the keys to homes increased compared to a year ago, according to a report released Tuesday.” The article continued to detail that “The county had 1,574 notices of default last month, compared to 1,438 in December and 2,138 in January 2009. The activity on notices of trustee sale dipped to 1,417 last month, just eight fewer than a year ago.”

Sacramento homes for sale are going for less money lately, according to a February 23, 2010 article, which noted that “Home prices increased for the seventh-consecutive month in December, the latest evidence that the badly battered housing market is at least attempting to get off the mat.” The piece, published in the Sacramento Business Journal, continued to state that “Sacramento-area’s median home price is about 30 percent lower than its peak four years ago, according to the California Association of Realtors. However, the amount of decline depends on the community and even the neighborhood.”

A second study, this one conducted by MDA Data Quick, confirmed this ambiguous news for Sacramento real estate for sale. The analysis, published in the Sacramento Business Journal on February 19, 2010, noted that “Home prices that had appeared to stabilize in Sacramento County last year fell significantly from December to January, although they matched the prices from a year ago, according to figures released Thursday from analyst MDA DataQuick.” The article, composed by Michael Shaw, further found that “The median sales price in Sacramento County for homes of all types, including newly built ones, was $165,000 in January, down from $178,000 in December. In January of last year, the median price was also $165,000…The company reported that sales totaled 2,168 homes in the four-county region, down from 2,524 homes the previous January.”

Like so many other markets across the country and particularly in the state of California, which has been especially hard-hit by the fluctuations in the national housing market, the Santa Cruz real estate market has seen vast devaluations in homes and condos throughout the past couple of years as the bubble burst on the seemingly endless rise in home prices. Average and median prices have plunged from their peaks, inventory has piled up and many homeowners have been forced into foreclosure by ballooning mortgage payments and rising unemployment.

However, not all news is bad news concerning Santa Cruz homes and condos. In fact, according to statistics from the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors, the end of 2009 saw the average price for a single-family residence hit its highest point since September of 2008: In November 2009, the average price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County was more than $620,000 (although it fell back to just over $603,000 in December). Median prices showed stark improvement as well: the median price for a single-family home in December was $555,000, also the highest monthly figure since August 2008. Single-family homes inventory began to thin out toward the end of the year as well, with December finding just 631 homes on the market, the lowest level in more than two years.

Condo prices saw a resurgence toward the end of the year as well, with the average price for a condo in December 2008 at its highest point in five months, at over $378,500. The median price at the end of the year also maintained one of the higher monthly levels for 2009. The inventory of condos and townhomes showed signs for optimism as well, with the number still on the market in December 2009 at fewer than 200, the lowest level in more than two years.

The city of Santa Cruz saw the most sales volume of any town or city in Santa Cruz County in December 2009, with sales volume at more than $21 million. The city’s median sales price in December was at $578,000 for single-family homes, while the average price was more than $660,000. The Seacliff neighborhood had the highest median sales price in December of any Santa Cruz neighborhood, at more than $1.13 million, while Adult Village saw the lowest median price of $227,000. Most of the inventory still on the market in the Santa Cruz area is in the San Lorenzo Valley and Santa Cruz proper areas, followed by East Santa Cruz County and Scotts Valley.

In October 2008, the median home price of homes sold in San Jose, California was $490,100. This is down from $495,000 in September and $600,000 back in July. This is significantly lower than the median home price of $737,000 in October 2007.  The number of homes sold has increased dramatically from as few as 191 in February 2008 to as many as 515 homes sold during the month of October 2008.

Since this summer, the number of homes for sale in San Jose has fallen but it’s still up on a year over year basis. As of October 2008, the number of homes for sale in San Jose was over 3,537 compared to a high of 3,951 homes for sale in July of this year. In October 2007, there were only 3,129 homes for sale.

The increase in the number of sales and the decrease in the median home price can be credited to the fact that banks have lowered the asking prices for foreclosures they are trying to sell. Currently, foreclosures make up a large percentage of monthly home sales and these have caused the median home price to drop. An increase in the number of homes for sale, similar to what we saw over the summer, also caused a decrease in home prices in most cases.

So, the question in everyone’s mind is “have we hit the bottom?” The answer is No. Although, that depends on what type of house you want and where in San Jose you are looking to buy – which will be the subject of another article.

Please do keep in mind that the statistics above are from M.L.S Listings Inc, and account only the homes sold through this multiple listing service. These statistics are only for single family residences and do not take condominiums or other property types into account.

Located in Orange County in Southern California, the Mission Viejo real estate market has shown promise for the future due to an increase in home sales over the past few months.  Much of Southern California has shown positive signs for the recovery of the real estate market in the near future, with home sales increasing, even though median home prices have been steady at below-average rates.  However, issues such as the financial stability of the state of California and job security are major concerns and obstacles to the full recovery of the Mission Viejo real estate market, as well as the economy of California as a whole.

According to DQNews.com, Southern California show an improving real estate market despite median prices that are still below previous years’ levels.  In September of 2009, about 21,539 new and resale houses and condos were sold in Southern California, which as up 0.2 percent from 21,502 in the previous month and up 5.1 percent from 20,497 in the previous year.  The increase in home sales is due primarily to the fact that housing in the region is much more affordable now because of a large inventory of foreclosed or distressed properties for sale, offering prospective home-buyers the “bargain” rates that many are looking for.  However, the median home price for new and resale houses and condos has declined by about 10.9 percent from $308,500 in September of 2008 to $275,000 in September of 2009.  Many real estate experts expect foreclosure rates to continue to increase during the next few months and that consistent and significant signs of recovery aren’t likely to show until well into 2010.

The Orange County Guide to Local Real Estate has reported the improvements in the Anaheim real estate market, as well as the Orange County real estate market as a whole.  They have reported that home sales in the region increased by about 7.2 percent in July 2009, mortgage applications have increased, and that interest rates have declined to hit a five-week low.  Mission Viejo posted that 102 homes of the 145 homes listed were sold in September of 2009, an improvement over the 94 sold of the 126 homes listed in September of 2008.  However, the average sales price has declined during the same period from $538,496 to $468,417.  Many real estate experts believe that the Mission Viejo real estate market is gaining the momentum in needs to make a full recovery.