Posts tagged United States
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.
Big Island Real Estate Market Update
Sep 10th
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The Big Island, which is Hawaii County, is also officially known simply as the island of Hawaii. The island is the largest of all the Hawaiian islands — larger even than all of the other islands combined, at more than 4,000 square miles — and has a population of around 180,000. Like other Hawaiian islands, Big Island homes for sale have struggled in the most recent years as the market in the U.S. for real estate crashed around the time the financial crisis began, set off by an untold number of subprime mortgages. As these mortgages saw their rates reset, almost always to higher rates, many found themselves suddenly unable to refinance at lower rates and unable to make the increased payments, leaving them out in the cold. When these things happened, the number foreclosures on the Big Island, as well as across Hawaii, rose to levels rarely seen before.
The Hawaii County or Big Island real estate market has mostly leveled off as of late, but some spikes in prices can still be seen as things jump around trying to settle down and get back to a sense of normalcy. The number of homes sold, which had been steadily rising in every quarter since the beginning of 2009, actually saw its first decline since then in the most recent quarter, the second, of 2010, with about 1,000 homes sold, down from the previous quarter, when there were around 1,700.
The median price for home sales in Hawaii County saw a small peak in size at the end of 2009, but then in the beginning of this year it fell again. In the second quarter of 2010, the median price was around $250,000, which was up ever so slightly from the first quarter but down from the fourth quarter of last year, when the figure was around $280,000.
Sacramento real estate market
Sep 9th
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The Sacramento real estate market is currently in a steady and prospering state with little but positive change since 2009. Foreclosures and short sales have recently risen to account for 35 to 40 percent of the current housing inventory. Additionally, there are more sellers than buyers on the market at this time, which makes this a great opportunity for getting the best deal possible on a home in Sacramento. The average price on homes for sale in this area is currently around $350,000, with most houses selling in the $350,000 to $400,000 range. This indicates very little change since the previous year; however, with most sellers quickly receiving multiple offers on their homes, selling prices have tended to be roughly between 90 and 95 percent of the asking price. The average time for houses to be on the market in Sacramento has been approximately 30 to 60 days.
Repeat buyers and investors are now dominating the Sacramento real estate market over first time buyers for the first time in nearly three years. This surge of repeat buyers is mainly for use as rentals and is due to the low prices of real estate properties in the area. Furthermore, with a high inventory of houses for sale and very competitive interest rates, there has never been a better time to purchase real estate in and around the Sacramento area, which has always been considered as a housing hotspot. Many of the homes found in this area are extremely unique and have character that cannot be found anywhere else. Especially properties located around Sacramento’s downtown have become quite valuable recently because of the steadily increasing demands for them. Numerous investors as well as large businesses making corporate relocations can account for this high demand of real estate around the downtown area. In addition, the city of Sacramento has made plans to revitalize various regions of the city, including Downtown. Because of this, the property value of different locations can fluctuate significantly in this area, but nevertheless, one can feel very secure about making an investment in this currently expanding district.
Sacramento is presently exhibiting a buyer’s market with all signs pointing towards a growing stability that may even turn into a full recovery. Foreclosures increased just over 20% since the last year, while defaults fell nearly a whopping 40% from 2009. Additionally, real estate vacancy rates are currently down all over Sacramento, even as tight as just 11.7% in the Downtown area. As a result, the Sacramento real estate market is doing well, and as home prices begin to inch up over the coming months this is the perfect time for buying property in Sacramento.
