Homes and Real Estate Blog

The 4S Ranch real estate market, an upscale portion of the San Diego County market, showed signs of improvement and progress along with the rest of the region. According to a June 1, 2010 article from the San Diego News Room, “After a challenging year in 2009, the real estate market in San Diego County has seen much improvement in this first quarter of 2010. Within the first three months, the median price has improved month over month for both condos and single-family houses, and the year-to-date median price for all properties is significantly higher than it was in 2009.” The piece by Mark Marquez noted that “Best of all, even with higher prices, there are still large numbers of properties being sold and being sold quickly…It is likely that April will continue to be a busy month for the entire country, as everyone tried to close deals before the federal tax credit comes to an end.”

The possible rally of a previously extremely fragile sector of the Southern California may mean augmented stability for 4S Ranch houses for sale. According to a June 9, 2010 article in the Los Angeles Times, “After nearly three years of declines there are signs that Southern California’s beaten-down commercial real estate market has struck bottom – setting up the possibility of a rebound later this year.” The piece, composed by Roger Vincent, went on to note that “In a sign of the easing, heavyweight investors armed with buckets of cash are on the prowl, looking to snap up office buildings, warehouses, shopping centers and apartments at the market’s low, industry observers say. The buyers are choosy, but the most desirable buildings elicit bidding wars when they come up for sale.”

The rate of sales in the Southern California declined for the first time in nearly two years, possibly a product of higher housing prices in the 4S Ranch market and other regions. According to a May 18, 2010 article from the Associated Press, “Home sales in Southern California declined last month for the first time in nearly two years, as buyers appeared to time their purchases to cash in on a state tax credit and supplies of affordable inland properties dwindled, a tracking firm reported Tuesday.”

The Fullerton real estate market, a component of the Newport Beach and Orange County housing markets, is starting to show signs of a strong recovery. According to a June 7, 2010 article from the Orange County Register, “The long-suffering building industry is starting to talk seriously about a housing rebound. Emile Haddad, CEO of Aliso Viejo-based Five Point Communities, which manages several housing developments for Lennar Corp. boldly said: ‘I think 2011 will start to feel good. I think 2012 will feel very good,’ Haddad said. ‘I think a lot of wounds we’re feeling will be gone.’” The piece, composed by Jonathan Lansner, went on to state that “The homebuilders ‘machine’ is broken, Haddad said. Builders’ production capacity has been drastically curtailed during the slump, and that will result a shortage of new housing in the near futures, driving up prices.”

This remarkable turnaround for Fullerton homes for sale and the rest of Orange County was also referenced in a June 7, 2010 article also from the Orange County Register. This piece stated that “New figures from Costa Mesa-based Hanley Wood Market Intelligence show that Irvine Co. sales success at its Woodbury projects in Irvine helped push Orange County’s total for new homes going into escrow to the highest level in two years.” The article, written by Jeff Collins, went on to note that “Buyers signed contracts to purchase 523 new homes in Orange County during this year’s winter quarter. That’s the highest number of sales contracts for any quarter since the spring of 2008…Sales contracts saw the highest quarterly percentage gain in records dating back to 2007.”

The median sales price of Fullerton real estate and the rest of Orange County did decline slightly in the month of April, although the figure was substantially higher than the last years’ figure. According to a May 18, 2010 article from the Orange County Business Journal, “Orange County’s median home price edged down $2,000 in April from March, but still stands $50,000 higher than the prices seen here a year ago. The median price of a home sold here in April was $430,000, a less than 1% drop from a month earlier, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick…”

The Indian Wells real estate market, a small portion of the larger Coachella Valley and Palm Springs housing markets, began to show signs of recovery along with the economy of the area. According to a May 18, 2010 article from the Desert Sun, “In another sign of a recovery real estate market, the average home price in the Coachella Valley rose 16 percent in the past 12 months to $266,146, the California Desert Association of Realtors reported today.” The piece, written and submitted by John Hussar, continued to note that “By comparison, the average sales price for the first quarter was $290,952, up from $250,864 in the first quarter of 2009, according to an analysis by Real Data Strategies, which provides in-depth reports for the California Desert Association of Realtors. However, the average sales price in the first quarter of 2008 was $486,604.”

A more recent report indicated the same upwards trend for Indian Wells homes for sale – a higher median price along with the rest of Coachella Valley real estate. According to a May 29, 2010 article from KPSP News, “If you’re trying to sell a home or condo in the valley there is some good news. Compared to the same time period last year home prices are up quite a bit.” The piece by Jackie Pedroza went on to state that “According to a report just released from the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors, the median home price in the Coachella Valley rose 31% in April, compared to the same time last year. The median price jumped from $150-thousand dollars to more than $190-thousand dollars.”

The overall economic situation of the Coachella Valley is also improving, which should increase interest in Indian Wells real estate. According to a June 6, 2010 article from the Desert Sun, “For the first time since 2007, The Desert Sun’s quarterly index of leading Coachella Valley economic indicators shot up 9 points from some of the lowest marks of its history to 95.5. Hitting 100 is the tipping point for job growth…Consumer spending has been on the rise. Gasoline prices are down. Tourism busted out of its box.”

The Anaheim Hills real estate market, part of the larger Southern California and Orange County housing markets, showed signs of continued strength despite some faltering in neighboring regions. According to a May 24, 2010 article from Marketwire, “Home sales decreased 8.1 percent in April in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home rose 21 percent, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported today.” C.A.R. President Steve Goddard stated that “It’s likely that the state tax credit that went into effect May 1 created an incentive for many buyers to postpone closing escrow so they could take advantage of both the state and federal tax credits that were available. We should see the pace of closed sales edge up in May and June as these tax-incentivized transactions close.”

Anaheim Hills homes for sale and other parts of the Orange County fared better than the rest of Southern California. According to a May 18, 2010 article from OCLNN, “Orange County saw stronger gains in home sales and price compared to all other Southern California counties during April. The median home price in Orange County jumped 13.2 percent since April 200, to $430,000, according to DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate information service.” The piece, composed by Mike Reicher, went on to note that “Also, the number of sales hiked 11.6 percent to 2,669 sales of new and resale homes during April. And while it’s another positive sign that the housing market is recovering, the median price in April is slightly lower than it was in March – $432,000 – and is well below the 2007 peak of $645,000.”

The steady rise of the median price in the Anaheim Hills and Orange County housing markets was mentioned in a May 24, 2010 piece from the OC Metro. According to this article, composed by Kristen Schott, “Orange County’s median home price popped 13.7 percent in April, compared to the same time last year, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors. The number rose to $491,120, up from $432,110 in the same month last year. However, the median fell 0.4 percent from March, when the number his $493,120.”

The Santa Clara real estate market, part of the larger Silicon Valley housing market, saw increases in two key indicators during the month of April 2010. According to a May 20, 2010 article from the Mercury News, “Santa Clara County posted only a slight gain in home sales last month compared with April 2009, but the median home price jumped 26 percent. The median price of previously owned single-family houses sold last month was $550,000, up 26.4 percent from $435,000 in April 2009, and flat from March 2010, according to a report Thursday from MDA DataQuick.” The piece, composed by Sue McAllister, continued to state that “The median condo price rose 31 percent from last year, to $335,000…In Santa Clara County, 1,185 houses sold last month, up just 1.2 percent from the same time last year, and up7 percent from March of this year. By contrast, sales in the last few months of last year and in March this year increased by double-digit percentages compared with year-earlier totals.”

The rise in Santa Clara homes for sale that were actually purchased was the focus of a May 31, 2010 article in the Mercury News. This piece noted that “The local housing market continues to show improvement in sales and value of homes, though overall home sales in the nine-county Bay Area and the state as a whole, showed mixed results during the month of April, according to latest real estate sales and price reports.” The article by Rose Meily went on to note that “MDA DataQuick reports sales for all new and resale homes and condos in Santa Clara County rose 3.1 percent in April compared with the same period last year. A total of 1,656 homes sold in April, up from 1,606 homes sold in April 2009.” The median home price for all homes jumped 20.7 percent from $405,000 in April of 2009 to $489,000 this year.”

Jeff Bull, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, added that “Sales activity in the high-end market appeared sluggish around this time last year, but there is more activity in this price range this year because high-end financing has loosened a bit and the government tax credits may have provided the additional incentive for buyers to make their move.”

The Paradise Valley real estate market, a component of the larger Phoenix Valley housing market, showed several signs that might indicate a possible housing recovery in the future. According to a May 22, 2010 article from the Arizona Republic, “April figures for existing-home sales in metro Phoenix reveal several promising shifts for those searching for signs of a housing-market recovery. The overall number of home sales in the region continued to hover near record levels last month.” The piece, written by Catherine Reagor, went on to note that “Beneath the sales figures were other encouraging numbers: Foreclosures did not dominate sales of existing homes in the Valley for the first time in more than a year. The number of investors purchasing homes from lenders dropped. More buyers purchased homes with the intent of living in them.”

Despite a slow in the purchase rate of Paradise Valley homes for sale, the median price for homes in the region rose slightly in the area. According to a June 9, 2010 article from KTAR News, “The end of the first-time homebuyers tax credit April 30 could be the reason for signs of a slowdown in Valley home sales. Fletcher Wilcox with Grand Canyon Title in Phoenix says, ‘On April 30, the last day you had to go under contract (and get the credit), we had 681 homes go under contract in greater Phoenix. When you compare the last day of May, you only had 80 go under contract.’” The piece by Bob McClay went on to say that “At the same time, Wilcox, who puts together the monthly Residential Focus Report, said Valley home prices are up about 2 percent. The homes that are selling are in lower price ranges, Wilcox said…the 2 percent increase in Valley home prices bucks the national trend.”

The rate of foreclosures in Paradise Valley and Phoenix area real estate declined substantially in the month of May. According to a June 9, 2010 article by Catherine Reagor from the Arizona Republic, “The number of new foreclosure filings against Phoenix-area homeowners fell in May to the lowest level since July 2008.”

A higher average sales price along with a move towards more expensive homes indicates a strengthening trend in the Palo Alto real estate market. According to a May 21, 2010 article from the San Francisco Chronicle, “Median resale home prices in the Bay Area rose 30 percent in April compared with the prior year, in a market that featured fewer foreclosures and more activity in higher-end neighborhoods, according to a real estate report released Thursday.” The piece, composed by Robert Selna, went on to note that “A total of 5,283 existing homes changed hands in the Bay Area in April, which was about 225 fewer than in April 2009. Their median price was $400,000, up 30 percent from the prior year’s $307,344…At the same time, middle- and higher-priced areas saw more action. Thirty-five percent of all homes sold in the Bay Area were priced at $500,000 or higher, up from 27 percent a year ago.”

This move towards more expensive Palo Alto and Bay Area homes for sale was also mentioned in a May 28, 2010 article from Inman News. This piece noted that “Real estate professionals in California sold slightly fewer homes in April than they did a year ago, according to a report by real estate data company MDA DataQuick. Sales of both new and resale houses and condominiums were down 1.3 percent year-over-year, to an estimated 37,481 units.” The article went on to say “That[‘s] a 0.5 percent increase from March, however. The median price for a home in the Golden State stayed flat month-to-month at $255,000, but was a 15.4 percent increase from April 2009.”

The rise in Palo Alto home prices and the accompanying decline in home sales were also mentioned in a May 20, 2010 article from the Contra Costa Times. The piece by Eve Mitchell noted that “Bay Area home sales in April were down slightly from a year ago while the median sales price rose sharply. The sales slowdown was tied to some buyers delaying escrow until May 1 to get a bigger home-buying tax break. A total of 7,003 new and existing single-family houses and condominiums closed escrow last month…”

A market that has seen much back and forth and confusion amid the housing crisis in the U.S., the San Diego real estate market continues to show mixed signals, though as of late the good have outweighed the bad, suggesting that perhaps the city’s real estate sectors has hit the bottom and may be on its way back to a state of normalcy.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune, in December 2009, an index of housing prices showed that San Diego County’s home prices rose a slight 0.1% from the month preceding. This was the eight-consecutive month that the San Diego market showed an increase, the longest streak among 20 metro areas the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index monitors. The index showed that prices of San Diego homes for sale in December were up 2.7% from the same time one year earlier. The index, set at 100 for January 2000, stood at 156.29, up 8.2% from a low of 144.43 in April but still 7.6% below the record high of 250.34 set in November 2005.

Norm Miller, vice president at Costar Group, told the Union Tribune that the price per square foot fell nearly 5% in the fourth quarter of 2009, even though prices overall seemed to be rising, “Sellers are coming onto the market with slightly higher-quality properties or are being more optimistic,” Miller said. “And yet sold property prices are going down a little. So, we’re getting a gap again between buyers and sellers, and that means the inventory will start to build up again over the next couple of months — and that will continue and the market will soften a little more until we get to another wave of buyer tax credit expirations, which will hit late spring.”

In another sign for optimism, the county’s rates of foreclosures and defaults was also down from December 2009 to January 2010, though that’s not to say there aren’t any homeowners in trouble: There were 986 foreclosures and 1,741 default notices in January, down from 1,515 and 1,741, respectively, in December. Foreclosures were at their lowest level since May, while defaults were at the lowest rate since November 2008.

Though many areas in California have had a hard time weathering the real estate storm of 2008-09, the market for Santa Rosa real estate has fared better than many. Though inventory has increased and home values have fallen to a degree, the city has come out much better than many of its counterpoints in the state.

According to the California Association of Realtor’s data, in October, the prices of real estate in Santa Rosa actually rose, albeit by just 1.7%, compared with the same period of last year. Prices stood at a median of $300,000, up from $295,000 in October 2008.
Though prices are up slightly, they are still down from highs in October 2007, when prices were regularly around $450,000.

According to local realtor Beth Robertson, sales activity is up as well over the same period last year, although it is off slightly from recent highs of sales volume reached during the summer, with around 180 sales during November, up from less than 150 at the same time last year. Condominium sales, too, saw recent peaks over the summer months but have since steadied back.

The amount of inventory of homes for sale in Santa Rosa shows reason for optimism as well. The current inventory stands at just around a two months’ supply, which is considered a favorable seller’s market, and is down from a peak of a 16-month supply in October and December of 2007.

Over the past couple of months the city of Nashville in Tennessee has offered a promising view of its future.  The Nashville real estate market has been on the rise during the fourth quarter of 2009, with levels beginning to rise above levels seen in 2008 during the same time period.  Despite the continuing decline in median price, home sales have begun to increase significantly, something many real estate experts claim was caused mostly in part by the federal first-time homebuyers tax credit.   Many realtors are optimistic that the coming months will bring more success as prospective buyers rush to close on properties before the tax credit expires.  Nevertheless, due to the still declining median prices and struggling luxury housing markets and commercial real estate in Nashville, many people aren’t convinced that the Nashville real estate market will make a full recovery until the end of 2010 or most likely 2011.

According to the Tennessean, home sales in Nashville shot up in November by 58.7 percent compared to that of the previous year.  Sales in October even rose by 23 percent.  In November, Nashville realtors reported that approximately 1,973 homes were sold, a significant increase from the 1,243 sold in November of 2008.  Most realtors in the area attribute the significant increases to the federal first-time homebuyers tax credit.  Much activity took place towards the end of November when the tax credit was expected to expire, but since the expiration date has been extended to April, realtors hope that the tax credit will continue to spur an increase in Nashville real estate activity that will lead to a successful recovery sometime next year or in early 2010.

On another note, the Nashville Business Journal has noted that the high-end luxury home real estate in Nashville continues to struggle as sellers are having a difficult time finding buyers willing to pay a lot of money given the current economic situation.  In October, there were only 14 luxury homes sold in the Nashville region.  Despite slow sales, many real estate experts are optimistic that the luxury home market will show signs of improvement over the next few months.