BE HAPPY IF YOU OWN REAL ESTATE!

July 12, 2009 on 12:13 am | In Fascinating Information, Market Trends, Problem, Statistics, Uncategorized, all |

BE HAPPY IF YOU OWN REAL ESTATE!

LOS ANGELES WINS AS THE MOST OVERPRICED HOUSING MARKET IN THE U.S.

By Jodi Summers

Los Angeles is good at topping lists…best weather, prettiest people, throws the best party… recently, Energy Star noted that we topped the list of energy efficient cities. Now, the news is more infamous than famous…like being named to the worst dressed list. Forbes says that Los Angeles is the most overpriced city in the United States, citing “…bloated housing prices, lofty living costs and unemployment rates among the highest in the nation…”

 

But the weather is perfect here…and traffic will improve… and there is good news for those looking to buy property. According to reliable sources like DataQuick information services, our home prices are leveling off, noting that the median price paid for a home was unchanged from January and February, “indicating that the market may be exploring price floor levels.”

It has been reported that a total of 19,486 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 27.9 percent from 15,231 for the prior month, and up 52.1 percent from 12,808 for March 2008, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

“…Go to Southern Cal, for example, we’re seeing a floor in pricing,” confirms Jeffrey Mezger, chief executive of builder KB Home. “We don’t see prices going down right now, which is a good thing, because then you can set a baseline.”

Truth be told, government- insured, FHA mortgages made up 37.8 percent of all purchase loans in March, up slightly from a revised 37.5% in February and up from 10.1% in March last year. And, regionwide, foreclosure resales accounted for 55.4 percent of March’s resales activity.

 

The median home price in the Los Angeles metro area has dipped from $525,000 to $319,000 over the last two years, Forbes noted that we still face one of the least affordable housing markets in the country. According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo’s Housing Opportunity Index, only New York, Long Island, N.Y., and San Francisco are more expensive.

Our housing issues are an over-the-top version of what’s happening, to lesser degrees, in the rest of the nation. Our unemployment rate is around 10.3%, right up there with Riverside. All of those new, mid-range housing projects are like fallow because of the lack of work.

“The unemployment [in Southern California] is definitely driven by the housing bust,” says Lee. “Prices are collapsing, but if you’re looking at buying a house, it’s still expensive.”

 

And that’s why we head up the over-priced housing market. Pathetic thing is, Chicago is second on the list; their weather sucks and the lifestyle is less dynamic than other list toppers like Miami (3) and New York (4)…

“For the average professional, New York’s premium is not as high as you’d expect, given the cost of living,” says Al Lee, director of Quantitative Analysis at PayScale.com. “The premium for a software developer in New York is actually less than it is in Seattle, and about the same as it is in Atlanta.”

Forbes came to this conclusion after analyzing earnings potential and living expenses in the 50 largest continental U.S. metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions–geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics. Sounds official and impressive, doesn’t it.

 

Sources

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Southern-CA/RRSCA090415.aspx

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/06/cities-expensive-top-lifestyle-real-estate-overpriced-cities_print.html

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-homes5-2009may05,0,2234983.story

http://www.socalmultiunitrealestateblog.com/?p=361

11 Comments »

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  1. [...] reading here: Santa Monica Property Blog » BE HAPPY IF YOU OWN REAL ESTATE! #arkayne { background: transparent; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px 0px; [...]

    Pingback by Santa Monica Property Blog » BE HAPPY IF YOU OWN REAL ESTATE! — July 12, 2009 #

  2. Related issues and trends, visit our blog at http://www.ForeclosurePulse.com. Real Estate

    Comment by Real Estate — July 12, 2009 #

  3. But getting more affordable. Take heed in knowing that in neighborhoods such as Bel Air, sales prices have declined 31% at the median to $1.5 million, you’re probably comforted by the fact that you don’t live in Glassell Park in East L.A. In that part of town, buyers counting on neighborhood improvement when they bought in the fringe area have seen median sales prices plummet 50% to $225,000 in the last year.

    Comment by Matthew Woolsey — July 12, 2009 #

  4. Jodi- Atlanta Georgia is 30% of the price of homes in Los Angeles for the same square footage homes according to Atlanta constitution journal- The only markets that are more expensive in the survey are New York City and San Francisco ( which the average home is 4 times more expensive than Atlanta ( 25%)- I guess you need to make a whole lot more money to live the luxurious life of the west coast or nyc area

    Comment by MF, AG — July 12, 2009 #

  5. Really great read - are you having fun with it? Keep up the good work and good luck with your site!

    Comment by Sarah — July 16, 2009 #

  6. Here is Money Magazine’s top 10 selections for the best overall places to live-all of
    them small towns with strong local economies, good schools, affordable
    homes, and low crime rates:
    1. Louisville, Colo.
    2. Chanhassen, Minn.
    3. Papillion, Neb.
    4. Middleton, Wisc.
    5. Milton, Mass.
    6. Warren, N.J.
    7. Keller, Texas
    8. Peachtree City, Ga.
    9. Lake St. Louis, Mo.
    10. Mukilteo, Wash.

    Source: Money (August 2009)
    http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/top100/

    Comment by Money Magazine — July 28, 2009 #

  7. Collect and recycle your e-waste. Electronic waste, also known as e-waste, includes printers, monitors, computers, and anything else with an on/off switch. E-waste should never go in the trash as it may contain toxic chemicals that can leach into the groundwater under landfills. Instead of just chucking it, take it to your local hazardous waste center, or contact one of the many recycling companies operating around the country. Since there’s value in the recycled components, look for one that doesn’t charge a fee for pick-up. You can find local resources for disposing of e-waste here.

    Comment by Jessica Jensen — August 13, 2009 #

  8. Four of California’s metros–Merced, El Centro, Madera and Modesto–posted declines of between 30% and 40%. In these areas, the sheer amount of foreclosures is depressing home values. In Merced and Madera, for example, foreclosure resales dominate home purchases, at 77.4% and 71%, respectively, for all June sales.

    What’s more, these areas have high concentrations of homeowners with underwater mortgages (the situation in which the homeowner owes more than what the home is actually worth). These high rates, coupled with Merced’s 18.8% unemployment and Madera’s 9.6%, means more foreclosures are likely on the horizon.

    Comment by Forbes — August 14, 2009 #

  9. Existing home sales in Southern California rose in July as the median price in the six-county region edged up by +1.1% to $268,000. This was the third
    consecutive monthly increase in median price. On a year-over basis, however, July’s median price was still down by -23.0% compared with July 2008.

    Comment by LAEDC — August 24, 2009 #

  10. Top 10 Towns for the ‘Cool’
    Budget Travel Magazine has picked the 10 Coolest Small Towns in America.

    The very coolest is Ely, Minn., which it calls, “a perfect base for camping, canoeing, and fishing.”

    The top 10 towns, which will be featured in the September issue, are:

    1. Ely, Minn.
    2. Cloverdale, Calif.
    3. Brevard, N.C.
    4. Saugatuck, Mich.
    5. Kennett Square, Pa.
    6. Bandon, Ore.
    7. Cuero, Texas
    8. Nyack, N.Y.
    9. Medicine Park, Okla.
    10. Egg Harbor, Wis.

    Comment by Budget Travel Magazine — June 2, 2010 #

  11. A few weeks ago began a blog, and the information you provide here has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work. cheers!

    Comment by Denver lofts — September 1, 2010 #

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