California Housing Market Ticks Up

Real Estate Articles

California Housing Market Ticks Up

Previous

Contents

Next

For the past year or two California has remained at the top of the worst real estate market list. In perhaps what may be a bright spot in a rather dim business, the California Association of Realtors reported that sales of single-family homes was up over 9 percent in November compared to October. The increase, however, is down 8.6 percent from 2009.

The realtors association indicated an even stronger recovery has been affected by the increase in short sales. The association released data that shows only 40 percent of short sales are actually closed. Still, the number of short sales in process tends to slow down overall closings due to the time it takes to navigate a short sale through the process.

The average short sale takes in excess of 90 days to be accepted by the lender. This causes a lot of frustration for both buyers and sellers and causes the overall market to slow down. Until lenders reduce the time required for short sales to close, all real estate transactions will continue to take an unusually long time.

While the good news was the up-tick in sales volume, the median price was down 2.4 percent from October and about the same from a year earlier. The median in November was just under $300,000 at $296,920. In the high-end market of homes above $500,000, listings and sales were down from the month before.

Another issue facing California real estate is the rental market. Often it is cheaper to rent a home than to own the same home. Annual rental prices average about 2.5 percent of the price of the home. Purchasing the same home, mortgage rates are about 5 percent of the purchase price. Simple math indicates it is almost twice as expensive to own versus renting.

Realtors say the true indication prices have bottomed is when prices are low enough that you can purchase a home, rent it out and make a profit. At that point, you will know it is a good time to buy for yourself rather than renting.

You can talk about... California Housing Market Ticks Up

Tags: • california • short sales • median price • rental prices • rental market • mortgage rates • housing market • buyers and sellers • real estate market • real estate transactions •

• Florida Housing Market Hurt by Shadow Properties (shadow properties)
• Tennessee Weathers the Storm (housing market)
• Buyer Tips for Short Sales in California (short sales)
• Massachusetts Home Sales Slow (real estate markets)
• More related articles for Massachusetts Home Sales Slow

Previous

Contents

Next

• <a href="http://realestate-library.classifieds1000.com">Real Estate</a>
• <a href="http://realestate-library.classifieds1000.com/real_estate_markets">California Housing Market Ticks Up (real estate markets); Real Estate Articles</a>

Privacy & DMCA Policy -- Sitemap
real estate markets California Housing Market Ticks Up