Real Estate News for Saturday, December 31st, 2005

Midwest is most affordable market. The National Association of Realtors just published its September-October 2005 research on median house prices, and the Midwest region is the least expensive in the country. Compared to other regions, most of the Midwest is well below the national average, which was $216,200 for a single-family home. This is up 16.6 percent from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $170,000. Of the major Ohio cities, Columbus was the most expensive, but still 30 percent less than the national average. Many people like to relocate to sunnier weather, especially during the winter months. Prices are reaching record highs in the hot spots. For example, Naples, Fla., was 79 percent above the national average during the second quarter. In California metro areas, prices ranged from $387,000 (Inland Empire east of Los Angeles) to $722,000 (San Francisco). If you're looking for sunny and 70 degrees year-round, you'll pay a pretty penny for it. These prices have remained fairly stable throughout the year. Click here to read more.

Real cost of a home less than in 1980s. A study by research company, Moody's Economy.com, and The New York Times found that nationwide, families earning median incomes have to spend 22 percent of their pre-tax income to buy a house at median prices, well below when in the 1980s the figure topped 30 percent. Despite rising real estate costs, the percent of income needed to buy a home dropped or essentially remained the same in some areas because of declining mortgage rates and fees and higher incomes, the report concluded. These factors compensated for rising housing costs nearly everywhere except major metropolitans such as New York, Washington and Miami and along the coast in California. Because of this, economists generally believe that, despite a cooling in recently booming markets, prices will not drop significantly in 2006. Click here to read more.

Bright outlook. Wild ride in 2005 will give way to another strong year in 2006, say Realtors. The real estate market was booming in Northern Solano County for most of 2005 and began to slow toward September, according to brokers, agents, and industry statistics. According to statistics from Bay Area Real Estate Information Services (BAREIS), residential real estate sales at the beginning and middle of the year consistently out-valued those of 2004 - for example, January had in excess of $109.4 million closed sales while January 2004 had $79.2 million - though by October, numbers began to decline. The most recent statistics released by BAREIS show that November sales fell 27 percent from October to November, and were 29 percent less than last year's November sales. Click here to read more.

In New Orleans, Housing Sales Are Bright Spot. A surprisingly healthy real estate market in the New Orleans metropolitan area is proving to be one bright spot in an otherwise stagnant local economy. The market is not sizzling hot, at least by comparison to New York and San Francisco in recent years. Still, it is stronger than anyone might reasonably expect four months after Hurricane Katrina, with prices for houses in many areas at or above prestorm levels. The market is spotty, to be sure. In areas hit hard by flooding, such as the New Orleans East and Lakeview neighborhoods of the city and other communities that ring the southern edge of Lake Pontchartrain, home sales are down dramatically, as only the bravest speculators are buying in these distressed communities. But there are plenty of buyers, with some seeking investments and others just needing a place to live after losing a home. Most people are buying "high and dry," to borrow the term on every broker's lips since Katrina, but even that seems a surprising vote of confidence in the long-term prospects of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes. In the West Bank area, which lies west of the Mississippi River, November sales were up 99 percent, in dollar terms, over November 2004, according to data provided by Latter & Blum. And in the high-priced Garden and Warehouse districts, the firm's November sales more than doubled. Real estate brokers here view the housing market's comeback as a small miracle in a city where 80 percent of homes were flooded. Click here to read more.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com