Posted on 04/26/2002 2:12:26 PM PDT by Joe Hadenuf
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The cost of home ownership in California broke another barrier in March, with the median home price topping $300,000 for the first time, according to industry figures released Thursday.
Market activity surged in March as sales of preowned homes increased 13.1 percent and the median home price rose 18.8 percent compared with a year ago, the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors said.
The median home price in the state hit $305,940 in March, up from $289,550 in February. The median price increased 18.8 percent from $257,550 in March 2001.
The real estate market performed strongly across almost all regions of the state and in all price brackets, with the upper end market showing renewed vigor for the first time in months, CAR president Robert Bailey said.
“It's a very opportune time to buy. There's nothing out there to indicate that this is a bubble or an anomaly,” said Bailey, who owns three independent real estate offices in Santa Cruz.
Ongoing low interest rates played a key role in driving the market, with buyers wanting to move before any increase. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 5.09 percent in March compared to 6.28 percent a year earlier, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates have increased slightly year over year, averaging 7.07 percent in March, compared with 6.95 percent in March 2001.
Sales of detached California homes totaled 586,230 in March on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, CAR reported.
That figure compares with 518,410 a year earlier and represents what total home sales would be during the year if sales maintained their March pace throughout the year.
It would take only 2.3 months to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, compared with 3.5 months last year, according to CAR.
The torrid pace of the market is good news for home owners, but it raises affordability concerns for others in a state where less than one-third of households have enough money to own a home.
“Affordable housing is still one of our biggest challenges,” said Paul Saldana, a board member of the California Association for Local Economic Development and chief executive of the Tulare County Economic Development Corp.
“But there is still a lot of affordability in various job centers in the state,” he said, including Riverside and San Bernardino
To all of those that sold their homes in the last few years and "fled" California, my condolences.
The realestate agent we know, says his biggest problem is, no one is selling, there is no inventory!
California may have a few problems, but it sure don't stop the people from wanting to come here.
Nothing sold in our area for a couple of months after 911, but after the first of the year everything that's be for sale is gone in a couple of weeks.
Wherever in my post did you get the idea that my daughter makes only $8.00. Please try to make sense.
Another good example of Tourette's posting.
Yeah, but remember, there are quite a few of the moms and dads both working, and here in California, that can easily mean a combined yearly income of 100,000 a year or more. Sometimes much more.
Excuse me? $8.00 and hour? My son is a courtesy clerk at the local market, and makes that much.
Where I am now isn't perfect, but I like living here a lot more than I did living in California. My favorite feature of life up here? The fact that everyone speaks and understands English! Another plus is the fact that I havn't had a single migraine headache since moving up here (I used to get two to three a year down there), and my problem with panic attacks has gotten much less severe. Needless to say, I am not missing life down there at all.
That is an important lesson I learned here on FR. I'm going to teach it to my kids. If something isn't the way you like it, just leave. Don't try to stand up for anything.
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