Posted on 04/27/2004 12:24:54 PM PDT by Rutles4Ever
LOS ANGELES, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The median price of an existing home in California in March increased 22 percent and sales increased 4 percent compared to the same period a year ago, the California Association of REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.) reported today.
"The median price of a home continued its run of double-digit price increases last month as buyers scrambled to purchase homes amid concerns of rising mortgage interest rates," said C.A.R. President Ann Pettijohn. "This unprecedented demand helped push the median price of a home in many regions in the state to record highs in March. And at $428,280, the median price for the state also hit a record high in March compared to $351,130 just one year ago."
The median price of a home in the Central Valley, High Desert, Monterey, Monterey County, Northern California, Northern Wine, Orange County, Riverside/San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, North Santa Barbara County and Santa Barbara South Coast regions posted record highs in March, according to C.A.R.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 590,220 in March at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR(R) associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity increased 4 percent from the 567,610 sales pace recorded in March 2003.
The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2004 would be if sales maintained the March pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during March 2004 was $428,280, a 22 percent increase over the revised $351,130 median for March 2003, C.A.R. reported. The March 2004 median price increased 8.4 percent compared to a revised $395,060 median price in February.
"Year-to-date sales are up 4.4 percent compared to the same period last year," said Leslie Appleton-Young, C.A.R.'s vice president and chief economist. "Along with the median price of a home, the inventory of homes for sale reached an all-time historic low of 1.6 months in March, while time on the market stood at a record low of 26 days."
(Excerpt) Read more at prnewswire.com ...
First time homebuyers are just screwed.
Personally I don't see how people do it. I bought a house in Ontario, CA three years ago for $177,000. Now smaller houses in the neighborhood sell for $350K and up. I am just glad I bought when I did. I guess people are just rich. Seriously though. People have to get married just to afford a home. Face it. If you have a 2K and up a month mortgage you are one paycheck away from bankruptcy.
From the Website:
The most affordable views in Boulder County! Enjoy the panoramic mountain views from the new deck. Backs to 17 acres of guaranteed open space. Newer 4-level home with walkout basement. Gorgeous diagonally-set hardwood floors. Gourmet kitchen with new granite sink & faucet includes gas stove & pantry. Three bay windows-one in master suite overlooks open space and mountain views. Beautifully landscaped with trees, a stream, garden areas, sprinkler system and flagstone patio. Quiet neighborhood with parks and trails. Gas fireplace, front porch.
Regards,
TS
It's not a bubble. CA housing prices are not based on speculation, just supply and demand, pure and simple. Massive immigration coupled with tight regulation re:new housing gets you this dynamic.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Yeah riiiight. Not here in So Cali. They just won't double every year. They never go down.
There's that, plus there are a lot of immigrant families that will pile 8-10 people in a house with less than 2000 square feet. And I'm not talking about Mexicans in poor neighborhoods -- I'm talking about large Asian families in good neighborhoods. To spread the payments on a $750k house amongst 3 or 4 wage earners makes it feasible.
What gets me are the new housing projects -- houses stacked one on top of the other, where you can look out your window and see your neighbor using his toilet less than 10 feet away, with dinky yards good only for a row of flowers or two... and THESE densely packed units are going like hotcakes. No longer do you see new projects with anything resembling privacy or a yard.
In California, it's very tough to build houses where people want them anymore, so when they do, they stuff 'em in tight and people line up to grab them.
And 'commuter' traffic from homes >50 miles from the workplace is getting so bad that moving a few more miles towards Vegas to be able to afford a house doesn't make as much sense as it might have 10 years ago. Our freeways just get busier and busier (LA/OC).
Also, since you're in California, your taxes can't have gone up more than 2% a year. Your new property tax bill alone would probably cause a heart attack!
Well .. I live in San Diego, and you don't know what you're talking about. Soooo .. I guess you're right .. we disagree!I was born and raised in southern riverside county and watched the entire housing scene for decades. Housing only became a problem after planning commissions allowed way too much developement that forced way too many people into a tight geographical area.
Building lots of cheap housing isn't the answer. They did that to my little home town so people in San Diego could come buy cheaper homes and drive 2 hours to work. This destroyed my peaceful home town in less then 10 years.
The clean air, the quiet streets, the lack of crime is only a memory now. Till someone wants to deal with population growth from immigration this problem is going to keep getting worst.
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