California Home Sales: Real Change or Temporary? - Housing Tracker

House Sales and Price Data

First Quarter U.S. Home Prices Fall 3.1%, Ofheo Says. “Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight: U.S. house prices sank 3.1% in Q1 from a year earlier… as buyers waited for values to stop falling. Prices for previously owned single-family homes fell in 43 states, with values in California and Nevada tumbling more than 8%, the Ofheo, said today in Washington.” (Bloomberg, May 22nd)

Study: Alabama One Of Five States To Report Rise In Home Prices In 1Q. “Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight: Alabama home prices rose year-over-year by nearly 5% in Q1’08, one of only five states to see an increase. Alabama, along with Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Texas, were the only states where home prices increased, compared to Q1’07. The states with the sharpest decrease were California, Nevada, Florida, Arizona and Michigan. Birmingham ranked 65th among the nation's metropolitan areas with a nearly 4% year-over-year increase for Q1.” (Birmingham Business Journal, May 22nd)

Manhattan Rental Market Report. “The majority of citywide rents are up compared to May of last year, as well as from April ’08, and it appears that this year’s peak rental season is off to a solid start. Prices increased in every sector of the market from this time last year except for doorman two-bedrooms, and though they’re not commanding the same rents as they were then, an overall comparison of y/o/y rental prices shows that the Manhattan rental market is still extremely healthy. From last month, prices increased across the board with the exception of doorman one-bedrooms, which decreased only marginally. In fact, there were no drastic changes to note.” (The Real Estate Group of NY, May 21st)

Area Realtors Find Sales ‘Picking Up’. “The Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors: A total of 808 single- family homes were sold last month, five fewer than in April 2007… A bounce back from March, when 733 homes sold, an 11% slump from the prior year… Buffalo Niagara residential sales over the January-through-April period were off 85 for the same period of 2007. Realty-USA CEO Merle Whitehead: “The worst is behind us. We’re seeing strong foot traffic at open houses and getting more calls for listings. Things are picking up.” The median residential sale price climbed 5% to $101,000. That beats the March median price of $97,000, and April 2007’s $95,000.” (Big Builder Online, May 20th)

40-Story Apartment Tower OK’d. “Seattle, Wash.: “Locally based developer Security Properties is planning to begin site work late this year, or early next, for a 40-story apartment tower in the Denny Triangle area, immediately north of the Downtown core. Seattle city planners approved the estimated $90-million project late last week. To be called Kinects, the 440-foot tower is slated for a lot on Minor Avenue between Stewart and Howell streets. The building would have 6,000-sf of street-level restaurant and retail space below 340 studios, one and two-bedroom apartments.” (Globe St., May 20th)

Bay Area Home Sales See First Monthly Gain In Half A Year. “DataQuick Information Systems: Bay Area home sales climbed nearly 30% from March-April, the first monthly gain in half a year… Y/o/y, however, sales were still down 15.3%. There were month-over-month sales increases in February, March, May and October of last year, none of which presaged an overall strengthening of the market... In San Francisco, sales of all housing types increased 6.5% from a year ago to 605. The median fell 5.1% to $750,000, the smallest percentage decline in the region… In Contra Costa County the median fell 34.2% to $395,000, even as sales inched up 1.5% to 1,265.” (San Francisco Chronicle, May 20th)

Has Housing Turned? “Commerce Department: Single-family housing starts slipped by 1.7%. That was far more important than any movement in the apartment sector. Multifamily numbers bounce around… and they have little to do with consumer sentiments and the revival -- or lack thereof -- in housing. Also, while the overall improvement for the month appears impressive at first, month-to-month comparisons can be thrown off by all manner of factors, certainly including weather -- or distortions in apartment building. The real data here is that housing starts were below April 2007 by 30.6%... A drop from that level of nearly one-third indicates real shakiness.” (Motley Fool, May 20th)

Firm Suggests Raising Fees For Homebuilders. S.C.: “The cost of a new home in Aiken County could be going up by nearly $1,600. That's how much a Maryland consulting firm says the county can charge in impact fees to recoup the strain new development puts on services such as law enforcement, garbage collection and transportation. But it's not clear whether county council members, who would have to approve the fees, will go for increasing the price of a new home or other construction. Other states -- particularly Florida -- are imposing impact fees on construction that affects existing roads and municipal services.” (Augusta Chronicle, May 20th)

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Comments

[Tom B]

"Other states -- particularly Florida -- are imposing impact fees on construction that affects existing roads and municipal services."


Home building and strip mining coal have much in common; in both cases a shared resource (our lands, public and private) are raped for the profit of a few greedy slime balls. Home building leads to dilution of the value of existing stock, increased traffic, increased strain on school budgets (with the feds falling on their face already due to NCLB). Not as bad as a strip mine, but, clearly, both industries fail to recompense the public for their use of externalities.

[300mph]

So whose land are you living on, Tom?