Median Housing Prices Poised to Fall Back Below $200K – Seeking Alpha -18 November 08
Last December, I wrote about how out of whack home prices had gotten versus incomes – the traditional range was 2.6-3.0x income for median home price. We tagged just under 4.0x at the height of the bubble in 2006.
* -39.4%: Riverside/San Bernadino, CA
* -36.8%: Sacramento, CA
* -36.0%: San Diego, CA
* -35.1%: Los Angeles, CA
* -31.0%: Cape-Coral/Ft. Myers, FL
* -28.4%: Las Vegas, NV
* -27.6%: Anaheim, CA
* -27.6%: Phoenix, AZ
Click here for an explanation of the numbers
SoCal Home Sales Highest Level this Year – CalculatedRisk – 18 November 08
From DataQuick: Southland October home sales climb to highest level of the year
Southern California home sales rose unseasonably last month from September as buyers shook off gloomy financial news and took advantage of often-steep discounts. The median sale price fell to $300,000 – a 67-month low – as foreclosures once again accounted for half of all resales …
Homebuilder Blues: NAHB/Wells Fargo Home Builder Ratings November 2008 – Paper Economy - 18 November 08
Each component of the NAHB housing market index remain WELL BELOW the worst levels ever seen in the over 20 years the data has been being compiled strongly suggesting that the current severe contraction has surpassed all other events seen in the last 22 years and is now firmly in uncharted territory.
Chicago home sales drop 23% Home prices fall 4.5% – Chicago Sun Times – Francine Knowles – 17 November 08
Home sales in Chicago fell 23 percent and the median price fell 4.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the Illinois Association of Realtors said Monday.
There were 5,958 existing single-family home and condominium sales in the quarter, down from 7,769. Prices fell to $289,400, from $302,900.
In the Chicago metropolitan area, sales were down 22 percent to 20,449, and prices fell 6.7 percent to $244,900.
Statewide, sales dropped 21.2 percent and prices fell 8.2 percent.
Only 38 of 100 counties in the state saw median home sale price increases. Among them was DuPage, where prices edged up 1.5 percent to $274,125.
Property sellers forced to slash prices by record margins – The Guardian – Ashley Seager – 17 November 08
Property sellers have started to cut their prices substantially to attract what few buyers remain in the housing market, a survey says today.
Property website Rightmove’s monthly survey showed sellers have reduced their asking prices by 2.9% this month from October – the biggest fall since December last year and the largest ever for a November.
The survey found that asking prices were 7.1% lower than a year ago, but Rightmove said agents were reporting that deals were being struck nearer to 20% down from the peak in autumn last year. The average home coming onto the market cost £223,000 in the four weeks to November 8.
“Some sellers could avoid months of disillusionment and despair if they started marketing at an asking price closer to where the evidence indicates they are likely to end up,” said Miles Shipside, the commercial director of Rightmove.
“While average asking prices have fallen by 7.1% over the past year, in most parts of the country you should look to at least double that discount to achieve a sale.”
An average of 20,000 people a week put their property up for sale during the period, the lowest level recorded by Rightmove since 2002 and down on a level of about 35,000 a week 12 months ago.
The survey comes after the Halifax reported last week that prices in the October were down 15% from a year ago.
Some experts predict the onset of a recession could mean prices have another 30% to fall, especially as it is so difficult for first-time buyers to obtain mortgages and as thousands are losing their jobs.
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