Posts tagged Counties
The Auburn real estate market
Oct 15th
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The Auburn real estate market, part of the larger Sacramento area housing market, saw a series of problems related to foreclosure in recent months. As more and more distressed Auburn homes for sale and properties are brought to foreclosure auctions, the number of individuals affected – including renters – continues to rise. A September 14, 2010 article from the Sacramento Business Journal written by Michael Shaw noted that “Foreclosures in Sacramento County were sharply higher in August, though they did not top the peak reached in March, housing data company ForeclosureRadar said Tuesday. A total of 997 homes went back to lenders during the month, while another 198 were sold to a third party. The recent high was in March, with 1,035 homes going back to lenders and 277 sold to a third party. Before August, foreclosures had been trending down in the region. The county’s inventory of foreclosed homes that have not been resold reached more than 6,000 homes. In Placer County, 184 homes went back to lenders in August, the same total as July. The county also peaked in March with 215 homes going back to banks at foreclosure sales.”
Thousands of renters in the Auburn housing market have been evicted as a result of impending foreclosures or short sales, according to a September 23, 2010 report from KCRA News. The article noted that “
A San Francisco-based tenants’ rights group held a special meeting for renters facing foreclosure Thursday night at the Sacramento Housing Alliance. Tenants Together said last year more than 200,000 renters were affected by foreclosure. Of those 200,000, Tenants Together said, in Sacramento, the foreclosure crisis forced nearly 14,000 renters out of their homes, in Placer County nearly 2,000 and in San Joaquin County just over 8,000. In fact, it’s not illegal for homeowners to rent out a home even after it goes into default. Tenants Together said that scenario is happening with increasing frequency forcing renters to move. “It’s a huge number. It’s a shocking number,” said Giti Dadlani, an organizer for Tenants Together. Derek Dunbar, a Sacramento resident, had only been renting his home three months before he found out it was in default.”
The Santa Cruz real estate market
Oct 1st
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The Santa Cruz real estate market is quite far off from its peak before the recession, but has remained relatively stable in the past year. Although sales declined in the most recent tracking period, the median price of a Santa Cruz home for sale increased by ten thousand dollars between August 2009 and August 2010. According to a September 14, 2010 report from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “More than 90 agents with Bailey Properties showed up Tuesday morning to hear real estate guru Carole Rodoni explain why buyers are reluctant and what to do about it. “We have an economy where nobody knows where it’s going,” said Rodoni, who speaks every quarter to agents at Bailey, one of the largest local real estate companies. Just look at Santa Cruz County‘s home-buying statistics for August.
The median price was $510,000, little changed from $500,000 a year ago, according to Gary Gangnes, who tracks the numbers, but down from three years ago when it hit $770,000. Listings have grown and interest rates are at historic lows, but buyers are not biting. There were 152 single-family home sales, little changed from 154 a year ago. Homes under $500,000 made up 46 percent of sales, with those selling for more than a $1 million comprising 8 percent. About 1,200 homes in the county are in foreclosure, compared to less than 1,000 a year ago. Most of them end up either in a short sale or owned by a bank, which puts more downward pressure on prices. Even million-dollar homes have been lost to foreclosure.”
Local analysts also noted that the number of homes sold were near the record low for the Santa Cruz County real estate market. Compared to the all-time low of one hundred forty three homes sold in July 2007, realtors in Santa Cruz County sold one hundred and forty five homes in July 2010 and one hundred and seventy five single family homes in June of 2010. The decline from June to July could be interpreted as the result of the expiration of the federal housing tax credit, which temporarily inflated sales figures for a few months.
