Tag Archives: Calif

Housing Affordability Falls to Five Year Low

November 15, 2013 jd

Picture courtesy of themetapictures.com — Picture courtesy of themetapicture.com

Housing affordability decreased in the third quarter as home prices and mortgage rates were on the rise and put housing out of reach for more families, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

NAHB’s index showed that 64.5 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of July and end of September were affordable to families earning the nationwide median income of $64,400. That represents a drop from 69.3 percent in the second quarter, and marks the largest index drop since the second quarter of 2004.

“Housing affordability is being negatively affected by a ‘perfect storm’ scenario,” says NAHB Chairman Rick Judson. “With markets across the country recovering, home values are strengthening at the same time that the cost of building homes is rising due to tightened supplies of building materials, developable lots, and labor.”

While housing affordability has fallen since its peak in early 2012, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe says that a family earning a median income can still afford 65 percent of homes recently sold.

The National Association of REALTORS(R) recently reported that housing affordability has fallen to a five-year low as home price increases have outpaced income growth. “Expected rising mortgage rates will further lower affordability in upcoming months,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Most Affordable Markets

Indianapolis-Camel, Ind., and Syracuse, N.Y., tied as the most affordable major housing markets in the country. In both metros, 93.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the areas’ median incomes of $65,100 and $65,800, respectively.

Other major metros ranking high in affordability, according to the index, included:

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Least Affordable Housing Markets

Meanwhile, the San Francisco metro area continues to be the priciest housing market in the nation for the fourth consecutive month. Only 16 percent of homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $101,200, according to the index.

Other major metros that were among the least affordable in the nation included:

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.
New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

Source: National Association of Home Builders

REALTORS® Go the Distance for Habitat

Please help to keep this blog going
Let us Sell or help you buy your new home or land

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
Email John

BRE#00669941

Real Estate

Where the Real Estate Market Is Really Hot

June 17, 2013 jd

Photo Credit: http://www.powersiteblog.com/

Median list prices in May edged up 2.10 percent month-over-month, as housing inventories also were on the rise, creating a greater balance between supply and demand, according to realtor.com’s latest Real Estate Health Report.

The nationwide median list price was $199,000 for May, and up 4.79 percent year-over-year.

“We are seeing large regional markets across the country leading the way to national recovery. These regions are acting as a microcosm for what’s slowly happening in the larger real estate market,” says Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move. “Overall, we’re seeing seller confidence beginning to respond to consumer demand. Nationally, there are more homes going on the market for a shorter amount of time. And this is happening in our hot markets on a much larger scale.”

California housing markets are seeing some of the highest median price gains. The following 10 markets have seen the highest year-over-year list price gains:

1. Sacramento, Calif.: up 42.45%

Median list price: $284,900

2. Oakland, Calif.: up 38.27%

Median list price: $495,000

3. Detroit, Mich.: up 31.73%

Median list price: $125,000

4. San Jose, Calif.: up 30.58%

Median list price: $679,000

5. Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.: up 27.80%

Median list price: $428,000

6. Fresno, Calif.: up 27.48%

Median list price: $219,900

7. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: up 27.03%

Median list price: $235,000

8. Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: up 25.63%

Median list price: $199,750

9. Reno, Nev.: up 24.23%

Median list price: $235,900

10. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif.: up 24%

Median list price: $775,000

Source: realtor.com®

Read more

Inventories, Asking Prices Get a Boost
Please help to keep this blog going
Let me sell or help you buy your new home or land

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
Email John

DRE#00669941

Real Estate

Homes Are Selling Faster

October 24, 2012 jd

Photo credit: future-dreamhome.blogspot.com

Inventories of for-sale homes aren’t the only thing that is dropping. The amount of time homes are staying on the market is growing shorter as well—down 11 percent in the last year—according to the latest Realtor.com data.

Homes were listed on average 95 days, according to September housing data. That is down from 107 days a year earlier.

Homes are selling the fastest in Oakland, Calif., in which the median age of the inventory averages 21 days, which is 57 percent below what it was a year ago. Denver, Colo. boasts a median age of inventory of only 38 days, followed by fast-selling markets of Stockton-Lodi, Calif., with 43 days, and San Francisco with 44 days.

As the median age of the inventory is falling, inventories of for-sale homes continue to hover at record lows too, dropping 18 percent last month compared to a year ago.

“There’s a recovery,” Curt Beardsley, vice president of Realtor.com, told BusinessWeek. “Our market times are low and there’s actually a compression of inventory.”

Home buyer demand is increasing, with housing affordability still high and ultra low mortgage rates that have pushed home buyers’ purchasing power higher. The rise in demand has caused asking prices to also rise. Last month, the median asking price was $191,500, which is up 0.8 percent compared to a year earlier, Realtor.com reports.

Source: “Listings of Homes for Sale Drop as U.S. Housing Recovers,” BusinessWeek (Oct. 15, 2012) and REALTOR® Magazine Daily News

For all your real estate needs
Email or call today:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
Civil Engineer
General Contractor
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE#00669941

Education, Nevada County Information

California Wildfires 2012

September 14, 2012 jd

httpv://youtu.be/asA_MGOQK24

No Time To Burn

This video shows breathtaking images of several of this year’s wildfires, including point-of-view aerial footage from specially-equipped California National Guard Blackhawk helicopters dropping hundreds of gallons of water on flames. It also takes viewers along with Cal EMA Secretary Mark Ghilarducci, California National Guard General David Baldwin and CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott as they visit a special “helitack base” near the massive Ponderosa Fire in Tehama County. There’s also footage from a strategy session with federal and state coordinators at a regional emergency operations center in Redding, Calif. Officials also included an interview with two residents of Manton, California who were evacuated from their homes, expressing the grim reality of destruction caused by the Ponderosa Fire.
For all your real estate needs
Email or call today:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
Civil Engineer
General Contractor
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE#00669941

Real Estate

As Home Rents Head Higher, Owning Regains its Appeal

April 16, 2012 jd

Scotts Flat Lake April 13, 2012 early morning from my deck Photo by John J. O'Dell

Rising rents, coupled with slumping home prices and interest rates near record-lows, are boosting demand for homes at entry-level prices.

Making sense of the story

Increased buying activity from investors and second-home purchases may be factors behind the recent pickup in home sales, but real estate agents say they are fielding more calls from anxious tenants complaining about rising rents.

Average apartment rents rose by 2.7 percent last year, while the national vacancy rate dropped below 5 percent for the first time since 2001, according to a quarterly survey released Wednesday by REIS Inc., a real estate research firm.

The largest rent increases came in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., which saw increases of 5.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Such increases are one reason why industry analysts believe 2012 will be the first year since 2005 when the share of apartment renters that moves out to buy a house increases from the previous year.

Historically, the cost to rent an apartment has been about 10 percent lower than the after-tax cost of owning a home. That rental discount began to fall in 2010 and disappeared entirely last year, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank who track housing costs. By the end of 2011, the bank’s research found that the cost to rent an apartment was about 15 percent higher than the cost to own a home.

It isn’t always easy for home buyers to make it to the closing table though. Lending and appraisal standards remain tight, keeping many would-be buyers out of the market. And aspiring buyers are competing with savvy investors who have turned buying and reselling foreclosed homes into a business.

Read the full story

In Two Years, Real Estate Will Rock (mickdoesloans.wordpress.com)
Are Many Houses Really Less Expensive to Own Than Rent? (rentersinsurance.com)

Ready to buy or sell?
For all your real estate needs call

John J. O’Dell
Broker/Owner
O’Dell Real Estate
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE# 00996641

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles