Once again the real estate market is providing us both good and bad news. Sales continue to show slight upticks and home values continue to be depressed.
Homes sales did show an increase, but some of that might have been brought on as investors are snapping up homes.
Home sales rose 1.4 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That is below the 6 million that economists say is consistent with a healthy housing market and slightly ahead of last year’s sales – the worst in 13 years. (Source: The Oregonian)
On the negative side, values continue to slide.
Most economist say home prices will keep falling, by at least 5 percent, through the rest of the year. Many forecast don’t anticipate a rebound in prices until at least 2013.
The medium sales price dropped roughly 2 percent to $162,500 in October.
The high rate of foreclosures has made re-sold homes much cheaper than new homes. The medium price of a new home is roughly 30 percent higher than the price of one that’s been occupied before – twice the normal markup. (Source: The Oregonian)
For those of us who own homes, this news can be a bit unsettling. Many have been counting on the value of our homes seeing us through retirement down the road. Now it looks like it might be years before the value is returned. But on the bright side, at least sales are moving in the right direction, which eventually will put pressure on the values, pushing them upwards.
Righty,
ReplyDeleteHere in Sunny CA we have Prop 13 to thank for our low (HAHAHA) property taxes. BUT, as the housing mkt has collapsed it is also true that tax collections have only begun to follow the trend down. By that I mean tax rates remain higher than specified by Prop 13 and way behind the decline in real estate.
The other thing I have noticed in my local area is the real estate offered for sale comes with still amazingly high prices. I have seen homes so destroyed by dryrot that they are essentially worthless yet still demanding huge prices.
Not to worry, it will all get MUCH worse before it gets better. This is not a "simple" double dip recession.
Winston
There was an article in our local newspaper recently that said the county wants to add a 1% property tax increase to make up a 2012 shortfall. Great! When does it end? How does the govt keep expecting the average Joe to keep paying for their spending flubs? We live in a society of artificial affluence. On our assessed value, we will spend $25 a month for this increase.
ReplyDeleteAnd the school board wonders why their middle school bond keeps being shot down over and over. Hello! For us, it is a $60/month increase in property tax payments, or $720/year!! Who can afford that? And I am a teacher. I voted no.
Home values are going down, but taxes are going up. Go figure. The govt is going to stick it to you one way or another. Wake up- the govt is robbing us into poverty.
Winston, you are dating yourself. And at the risk of doing the same, I remember Jacob Javist (sp?) and his push to get the property taxes rolled back. Even after Prop 13 Passed Californians were still saddled with some of the highest property taxes per $1,000 of assesed value in the nation. And because of this revenue, The boys and girls in Sacto spent like drunken sailors on liberty. And now residents are paying the price, so-to-speak. I don't know if you read any of my other posts, but I do hit Cali pretty hard on occasionally. Mrs. Righty is from there and has a desire to go back, but if we do, there will be claw marks all the way down the I-5 corridor.
ReplyDeleteRose, could you send me a link to that story, I might like to blog about it.
ReplyDeleteRighty,
ReplyDeleteSure do hear you about claw marks. I am originally from Vancouver, BC. Tell your bride not to come back here. Thank heavens I live in NORTHERN CA where even the local sheriffs have banded together in defense of our Constitution. Shasta, Glenn, Trinity, Siskiyou, and at least one So. OR county. All to tell FedGov to go blow. Look here:
http://24hourpatriots.com/
I frequently ream my statehouse folks about everything that pisses me off. One a Demoncrap from Humboldt County and one a Rethuglican from Shasta County. I'm caught in between them. The Demoncrap NEVER answers me, the Rethuglican does.
But the Demons control the show, so...
Winston