I.E. region's median home price tops $400,000

The Daily Bulletin ^ | 4/26/2006 | Michael Rappaport

[Smogger]

Going up. For all the predictions that the elevator had reached the top, that housing prices had peaked and would only go sideways, the Inland Empire reached another milestone and posted an all-time high in March. The median price of a single-family home in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area was $403,000 in March, according to numbers released Tuesday by the California Association of Realtors.

It's the first time the median price has passed the $400,000 mark, and it comes just 21 months after prices topped $300,000 for the first time in June 2004.

"A lot of people who have been talking about the market softening were expecting prices to go down," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "Well, unit sales may be down, but prices are still going up, or at least moving sideways."

Sales were down 16.3 percent from March 2005 locally and were down 15.1 percent statewide in the same comparison. That leaves more homes on the market than a year ago, but the beginning of the traditional sales season shrank inventories from February.

"A lot of people are just kicking the tires right now," Kyser said. "They're trying to figure out what's going on with the market, whether it's still going up or whether they should wait to buy."

It may be that year-over-year gains of 20 to 30 percent or more are a thing of the past, but the local median was still up 15.1 percent over 12 months ago. The state median of $561,350 was 13 percent higher than March 2005.

Those numbers still leave California in a different world than the rest of the country, where analysts were excited about a 7.4 percent increase to a median price of $218,000.

David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said in a release that the numbers were a hopeful sign that sales will experience only a slight dropoff this year.

"This is additional evidence that we're experiencing a soft landing," he said. "The market clearly is stabilizing."

That stability nationally is at a much lower level than the Inland Empire, let alone the higher-priced parts of California. With prices like $682,500 in Norco, $612,500 in San Dimas, $610,000 in Upland, $570,000 in Chino Hills and $567,500 in Diamond Bar, it's pretty clear that Southern California's "affordable alternative" is no longer as affordable.

"Affordable housing now means the High Desert, places like Victorville and Apple Valley," Kyser said. "In Los Angeles County, it means the High Desert around Lancaster and Palmdale."

Vince Malta, president of CAR, said March is the month in which the market "gears up for peak season activity, and this year is no exception."

Seasonally adjusted sales jumped 4.9 percent statewide in March from February, even though they were still way down from last year.

"But those were record-setting levels," Malta said. "The pace of sales seems to be picking up. Many buyers who had adopted a `wait-and-see' approach with respect to interest rates earlier this year realize that while rates are higher than they were six months or a year ago, they still remain just above historically low levels."

Plenty of homes are on the market. CAR's Unsold Inventory Index stood at 4.8 months in March, a significant drop from 6.6 in February although well above the 2.2 figure of March 2005.

"Unsold inventory climbed significantly in the first two months of this year as listings increased and sales declined," said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for CAR. "Although the supply of homes for sale increased again in March, this was more than offset by a seasonal increase in sales."

Appleton-Young said she expects the supply to decline gradually over the next few months, although she doubts it will approach last year's levels.

Bill Velto, manager of Tarbell Realtors in Upland, said the picture actually was somewhat mixed, with some cities up and some down.

"If you look at the cities that took the biggest jumps, they were some of the lowest last year," he said. "If there's one thing clear in this picture, it's that there is still a demand for housing. There are lots of buyers out there and lots of sellers.

"Houses may not be selling as quickly, but that's because buyers can be choosier. There aren't that many people right now looking at it as if they have to buy this week."

- Michael Rappaport is business editor of the Daily Bulletin. He can be reached at (909) 483-9395 or at m_rappaport@dailybulletin.com.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

The house that silver built. :)

http://tickets.newportmansions.org/mansion.aspx?id=1001

[MplsSteve]

You doubled it in three years?

Did you make a lot of improvements to the house during that period?

Or is the market just that out of control in that area?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

That's a 1,000 sq ft?

If so, does it have high speed cable internet connection?

Bigger than my abode , a lean to here on the beach....

[ledgeacademy]

I used to be a real estate investor in the Inland Empire. In the mid-1990s property that I had bought in the late 1980s had so depreciated that Riverside County actually decreased the Prop 13 basis on their own.

[lemura]

Problem is, it only get's that nice & sunny a few days a year. Why don't you post a picture of what it looks like when it's about to rain, when it's raining, or just after it's rained?

[socal_parrot]

a lean to here on the beach....

But your lean to on the beach is now worth $1.8 million.

[linda_22003]

Very pretty - where is that?

[RipSawyer]

And look, there's still affordable housing in the IE.
Here's a 1BR, 1BA under 1,000 sq. ft. vintage charmer on a 4,000 sq ft. lot in Crestline.

Only $139,000!!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bilbo is going to want his house back!!!!

[bannedfromdu]

Totally out of control prices. North county is a great place to live and prices are high. I sold during the buying frenzy last year and got premimum dollar for it. It would probably go for 625,000 now.

[Grampa Dave]

More sad news about the devastating economy under GW and Arnold.

I have posted a thread about March New housing bus across the nation:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1621786/posts

Stunning 13.8% increase in new home sales
Market Watch.com ^ | 26 April 2006 | Rex Nutting


Posted on 04/26/2006 7:25:24 AM PDT by Grampa Dave


ECONOMIC REPORT Stunning 13.8% increase in new home sales

Median prices down year-over-year first time since Dec. 2003 By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- New home sales unexpectedly increased by 13.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.213 million, the highest level of the year, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. The increase more than reversed the 10.9% decline in sales in February. It was far stronger than the mild increase to 1.10 million annualized that was expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.

Combined with the small increase reported in existing home sales on Tuesday, the report shows the housing market was much stronger in March than anyone had reason to believe. See earlier story. Other housing market indicators, including mortgage applications, housing starts and builders' sentiment, are pointing to a softer housing market.

Excerpt for full story go to:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1621786/posts

[dogbyte12]

I think it's gone on just about as long as it can. People need to think about getting out if they are planning on moving. House prices doubling there in 3 years. 3 years to double? That is freaking insane. Did incomes double? Interest rates actually rose. So, people are going deeper into debt to afford these places. There are going to be massive foreclosures if there is a recession. That will drop the value. I think if anybody has held onto a property for 5-10 years or so, and is thinking about retiring somewhere cheap, what better time is there?

Get yourself a massive property somewhere not in California, NY, or Florida. Invest the other several hundred thousand you have left over.

[dogbyte12]

I feel really bad for young couples. Say in 2003 they said, let's save 10% for a down payment on a home. We have 10,000 in the bank, and we need 10,000 more for 10%. One year later, they save $10,000, and the house is now $250,000 and they are $5,000 short. Then they say, ok, We now have $20,000 saved, we need $5,000 more, plus $10,000 more just in case. Let's eat ramen noodles every day. So they save, and now have $35k saved. Now the house is $400,000. They might want to jump off a bridge or something.

Or get a really bad loan that they can't really afford. It can't sustain itself like this forever. Does anybody really think that $1,000,000 for a place with a view from LA 60 miles away with binoculars with 1,200 sq feet is going to work in a few years?

[Smogger]

Or get a really bad loan that they can't really afford. It can't sustain itself like this forever. Does anybody really think that $1,000,000 for a place with a view from LA 60 miles away with binoculars with 1,200 sq feet is going to work in a few years?

Yep. Believe me. I wish they would all move to Ohio, or wherever, but people insist upon living here, soaking up our sun, taking our high paying jobs, cloggin up our freeways, and enjoying our beaches, mountains, and myriad distractions.

[Spirited]

Try scattering dog hair on bushes where the deer tend to go. I know that works in other places.

[dogbyte12]

I was renting a home in Arcadia. To buy it would be about $600,000 right now. It's 1,200 square feet. I can't bring myself to do it. Even if I won $600k after taxes tonight, tomorrow I wouldn't buy that. It makes me ill to think about it. I would get a $500,000 house where the money counts. But, I consider the home less of an "investment" and more of a place where I live. I invest in stocks and 401k's. I want the best home my money can buy not the right zip code.

[Smogger]

I bought my house in Ontario in 2000 at the ripe old age of 27. I paid 177K because the market was so "hot" then, and their were not a lot of houses in the price range. I could liquidate in a fire sale now for 400K easy. That's a 225% increase in about five years. I couldn't have made a better investment.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

TBN

[litehaus]

Duplicated my 'basement bomb shelter' didja?....LOL....