Predicting Property Prices. Southern California home prices could decline by as much as 15 percent in the next two years, one of the region's most prominent real estate analysts has warned. Stephen D. Cauley, director of research at the University of California, Los Angeles Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate, also cautioned that San Diego's downtown condo market has become over-saturated and could be in store for a serious downturn. Click here to read more.
Investors shifting from homes, bonds to stocks. With concerns that the real estate market is cooling, volatility in bonds and the Dow Jones industrial average topping 11,000 this past week, investors appear to be focusing again on stocks. "We've already seen individual investors showing some signs of interest in the fourth quarter, and something like Dow 11,000 just increases that interest," said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial Services Group in Philadelphia. "This week could be the shot in the arm people need to really get back in again." Since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000-01, the housing market has taken off. The number of home sales climbed steadily since 2001, the last time the Dow was at 11,000. And while the Dow eventually fell to 7,286.27 on Oct. 9, 2002--the nadir of the bear market--home prices have doubled or even tripled in some areas, such as New York, San Francisco and southern California. Yet recent evidence suggests the housing market is slowing. Existing-home sales are expected to fall 4.4 percent in 2006 after years of record sales, while new construction is expected to drop 6.6 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. And the median price of a home, forecast to rise 12.9 percent for 2005, is expected to climb just 5.1 percent this year--a solid increase, but small compared to the ones real estate investors have enjoyed over the past few years. Click here to read more.
Caveat on governor's budget plan. Experts say funding depends on strong real estate market. After touting his budget plan to increase funding for education and transportation, the governor sounded a cautionary note. "It's important to remember, however, that our great good fortune is the result of a strong economy and a surging stock market. And anybody who follows the Dow, and particularly the Nasdaq, realizes how volatile these sources of funds are." The governor was not Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Gray Davis as he released his budget six years ago when state coffers were brimming with $12.3 billion in extra cash. But the money -- based on such volatile revenue sources as capital gains on stocks -- dried up almost as fast as it appeared, leaving the state with a whopping deficit that it's still trying to dig its way out of. Now, as the state's economy rebounds from the technology bust, some are questioning whether Schwarzenegger is venturing down a similar path by using a windfall in tax revenues on more spending when another key sector of the economy -- the real estate market -- shows signs of softening. Click here to read more.
4 bds, 2 ba, speaks Spanish. Bilingual real estate agents are in demand with Latino home buyers. Bilingual real estate agents are in high demand among Hispanics, the fastest-growing segment of the area's real estate market, local agents say. Hispanics are streaming into Oregon and looking to buy homes in part because of the super-heated housing market in states such as California, where nearly one in three residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin. Home values have risen so much in California that owners are able to sell, relocate to the Northwest and buy more house for less money. Many Latinos buying in Oregon are already on their second or third homes, using their equity to upgrade to larger, nicer houses. Click here to read more.
California MLS consolidation moves forward. Group seeks real estate brokers to serve as leadership. A group of six northern California multiple listing services, which plan to band together to form one of the largest MLSs in the country, have named their new organization the Northern California Real Estate Exchange (NCREX), according to an announcement today. The consolidation of MLS data has been a hot topic in California and elsewhere. There are separate discussions among a group of Southern California MLSs to regionalize the sharing of property data, and a San Francisco lawyer is pursuing a ballot initiative to create a statewide multiple listings service. Also, California Association of Realtors officials have laid some groundwork for sharing MLS data statewide. It has been a controversial issue, though, as some local MLSs are worried that regionalization efforts could lead to membership and staff reductions, and some brokers and agents worry that real estate professionals will expand their geographic focus to compete on unfamiliar turf. The organizations founding NCREX are: REInfolink, Contra Costa MLS, Bay East MLS, East Bay Regional Data, Central Valley MLS and the San Francisco Association of Realtors MLS. The group of participants has invited other Northern California MLSs to join NCREX, too. Click here to read more.
Texas real estate market undervalued. Housing experts say Texas is bucking a national trend in real estate. Investors are flocking here when sales are slow across the country. Nationally, sales of existing homes are expected to fall a little more than four percent this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Housing experts say land in Texas is undervalued and is more affordable compared to states such as California and Florida. An estimated 269,000 Texas homes were sold in 2005 - a 34 percent increase from 2002. Property is being bought by out-of-state investors looking to get a lot more house for their money. Click here to read more.
~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
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Cell: 909-446-2666
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tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com
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