Calif. median home price – July 08: $350.760 (Source: California Association of Realtors [C.A.R.])
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region July 08: Santa Barbara So. Coast $940,000 ( Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region July 08: High Desert $177,330 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index – Second Quarter 08: 48 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates – week ending 08/21/08 30-yr. fixed: 6.47% Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 6% Fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 5.29 % Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)
in any case it is NOT a plateau – it ‘may’ be a bottom! I am not a doom-and-gloom guy, but real estate is not the investment of the future. ONLY if you can afford a house, even with lost income for several months, and you expect to live in the same area for MANY years should you buy. And an concrete example (my experience renting): the owner bought in San Carlos (public record) in 1998 for $1.4M, sold in 2007 for $1.8M — having collected ~$400K in rents, paid $110 in selling commission, 120K in taxes, $25K in insurance, and about $50K in maint.; net in (400-110-120-25-50=95K); Assuming 100% interest-only loan at 6% interest payment: $84K/year; $672K even at 50% tax savings (net of rent) cost= $536K (part of which will have to be paid at sale IF there is any gain) ; so 95K-536K; net expenses $440K; IN ESSENCE NO GAIN (if not a loss); AND that in a time when prices were RISING rapidly.
San Diego Lasik Specialist
Compare the value of Real Estate in Palo Alto to the DotCom stocks … Real Estate will start ticking back up in the next year or 2 … Anyone think Priceline.com will ever be worth a tenth of it’s former high?
San Diego Surgeon
Everyone likes to talk about the foreclosures as if it’s a bad thing when the reality is that it’s an incredibly good thing. All the bad loans inflated the market well beyond what it should have been. As these people default on their bad loans the price of housing corrects, as it should, and maybe the rest of us get to buy. This story is good news and it should be reported as such. Or, would we all be better off if the government steps in and inflates pricing again.
San Diego Bail Bonds
Buying a home is a long term deal. I bought 10 years ago, value has doubled (a couple of years ago I could say tripled), and in 5 years house will be paid off. No more mortgage! Try that with a rental! Yeah… commute sucks.
Acne Specialist
This is the result of cooking the books to give home loans to people who otherwise couldn’t even get a car loan. The lenders and the borrowers are equally to blame. They created the bubble that burst- and who are the true victims?– those of us who could actually qualify for the loan and are still making house payments and homes that are rapidly depreciated due to the crooks and liars who cooked the books.
San Diego Tourism
A house is WORTH what you can sell it for. Since it is virtually impossible to sell a house today, it’s WORTH is obviously less that the asking price.
San Diego Weight loss