Posted on 09/25/2006 8:41:42 AM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Sep 20, 2006
4 Major California Home Markets See Drop In Prices
(AP) LOS ANGELES A real estate research firm says the median price of a California home increased last month at the slowest annual rate in nine years.
Four counties actually saw price declines. Among the largest real estate markets, according to DataQuick Information Systems, the steepest drop was 6.7 percent in San Mateo County. Other decreases were seen in Marin County (2.3 percent), San Diego County (2.2 percent) and Alameda County (1.5 percent).
Appreciation in Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties was essentially flat.
The statewide median price was $472,000 in August, a 3.5 percent hike over the year-ago period. It was the slowest increase since June 1997, when statewide home prices rose just 2.8 percent.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
And the straw man is???
Unfortunately, I don't have time to wait for your reply. Catch your comments later--GGG
And it's a couple hundred thousand higher than that in Orange County.
House in Cali - $472,000
Good point and it's true that in some markets here you might get a fixer upper for $472,000. Overall you don't get much for your money now if you're a new buyer.
I am fortunate to have purchased in San Francisco way back in the late 60s for just a few bucks in a bad neighborhood and an old triplex that needed work. I sat on that monster for 30 some odd years which allowed me to retire early and not have to ever worry about money again. It's all relative I guess. For me it worked out well. For new buyers it's a nightmare and for youngsters just entering the market it's impossible.
NBC news reporting tonight median home prices fell 1.7%
Also reporting that this decline is the first time it has happened in a year-over-year basis since 1995.
If your kids want to settle near you in San Diego, have them buy a condo and build up enough equity to buy a home when they need it.
I can agree that the media and you had that interpretation.
In Feb 2004 Greeny said the following: "American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage"
I think that's a truism, not an endorsement of ARMs.
Yes it will. I was responding to them being in San Diego near you. My niece is a teacher and a dance instructor. We just closed on her condo in Playa Del Rey at $329,000.
consumers... benefit... alternative... fixed-rate mortgage.
If something is not fixed it is adjustable.
My guess is fourth or fifth grade English.
But since I and the media all had the wrong interpretation of what he really meant, then please tell us, Oh Enlightened One, what he was truly saying?
Actually, I'm a bit burned out, so don't bother.
Things are so bad here in LA that the illegals are living three families to a house now.They always have but now they're nicer houses.
I hope that the people who drove up prices by speculating for a quick buck are the ones who will get hurt the most.The people who drive up prices are buyers, not sellers.
Have we crossed paths before? You're acting rather rude for someone who just bumped into me for the first time. And no, I don't hang on your every word, so if there is something you would like to draw my attention to, be my guest.
x paths ? not before 9/23 near as I can figure...
I just follow the economy\real-estate doom & gloomers and and try to hold up the other end....
as for rude, I suggest you notice the plank in your own eye before you look for the sliver in mine.
Truism, no endorsement.
Homeowners pay a lot of money for the right to refinance and for the insurance against increasing mortgage payments. Calculations by market analysts of the "option adjusted spread" on mortgages suggest that the cost of these benefits conferred by fixed-rate mortgages can range from 0.5 percent to 1.2 percent, raising homeowners' annual after-tax mortgage payments by several thousand dollars.
Truism, no endorsement.
Indeed, recent research within the Federal Reserve suggests that many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade,
Truism, no endorsement.
though this would not have been the case, of course, had interest rates trended sharply upward.
Truism, no endorsement.
American homeowners clearly like the certainty of fixed mortgage payments.
Truism, no endorsement.
This preference is in striking contrast to the situation in some other countries, where adjustable-rate mortgages are far more common and where efforts to introduce American-type fixed-rate mortgages generally have not been successful. Fixed-rate mortgages seem unduly expensive to households in other countries. One possible reason is that these mortgages effectively charge homeowners high fees for protection against rising interest rates and for the right to refinance.
I'm not familiar with the situation in other countries, no endorsement.
American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage.
Truism. If he were endorsing ARMs, why not say consumers will benefit if they get an adjustable?
To the degree that households are driven by fears of payment shocks but are willing to manage their own interest rate risks, the traditional fixed-rate mortgage may be an expensive method of financing a home.
If you want to take the risk, an ARM may be cheaper. Again, a truism not an endorsement.
Actually, I'm a bit burned out, so don't bother.
LOL!
That's rich.
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