(CA) Median home price escalates

[question everything]

Long Beach Press Telegram

Median home price escalates

$56,000 more in income needed to buy one.
By Don Jergler
Staff writer

(snip)

With a median household income of $53,240, Californians need to make $56,070 more to meet the $109,320 income to qualify to purchase a $470,920 median-priced home, according to a report issued by the California Association of Realtors.

CAR's Homebuyer Income Gap Index report for the fourth quarter of 2004 is another way to look at the state's growing affordability problems. Fewer than 1-in-5 California households can afford a median-priced home, according to CAR.

California's income-gap index rose 41.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2004 from a year ago, when the gap was $39,610, the report shows.

(snip)

According to CAR's index, the Central Valley's $28,730 income gap is the state's smallest. There, qualifying income is $69,560 to purchase a median-priced home at $299,670. The area's median household income is $40,840.

The San Francisco Bay area ranks as having the state's highest gap. Bay area buyers fall $84,690 shy of the $152,440 qualifying annual income to purchase a median-priced $656,690 home. The area median household income is $67,750.

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21478~2713300,00.html#

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

1. How do people do it?

I'm not talking about people with money; they always find a way. But how do middle-income people do it? I make a good salary here in the NYC area (about $95K with hubby), but I could never afford a place here, not because of the mortgage, but because of the huge down payment required.

My sister and her hubby bought a townhome when they got married (2003) in Tustin, Orange Co. When they sold it last year, they made about 250% in profit and they were able to buy a huge custom-built house in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC, but she and hubby make a decent above-average income, and yet even they have to struggle with two newborns.

Oh well, looks like a lifetime of renting for me... :(

[question everything]

8. This is why people like you buy houses in the Midwest

say, Michigan, for about 170K and then rent it out. This way they can benefit from the appreciation of houses in the country. If you do, however, make sure that you hire a management company to handle the screening of renters and to be there for dealing with any problems.

[LibDemAlways]

25. People are mortgaged to the hilt.

I personally know several people who have first and second mortgages on their homes totaling over a million dollars. And these people aren't millionaires. Mortgage lenders have been doling out cash like penny candy, and when interest rates rise and prices fall, these people are going to be left holding the bag.

The situation has gotten totally out of control in California. I live in a suburb of LA where a 750 sq. foot condo goes for over 300K and a small 1300 sq. foot 30-year-old tract house is over 600K. A contracter recently bought a fixer around the corner from me for 519K, made a few cosmetic improvements, and put it back on the market for 825. Insane.

"Moving up" these days is just about impossible for the middle class and young people trying to get into the market can just about forget it. Might be a good thing though. When this house of cards comes crashing down, there will be plenty of bargains out there.

[shanti]

45. re your last paragraph

i tell that to my sister all the time. she and her husband make over 100K in orange county, and are unable to afford to buy a home now. when the market drops, she will be in like flynn.;-)

i'm a single mom and was lucky enough to be able to purchase a small halfplex (979 sf) in sacramento back in 1996 before the market started its upward climb, for 67,000. i could easily sell it for 190,000 now, but i didn't purchase it for an investment, it's my HOME. i refi'd in may for 95,000, but shoveled much of the money i got back into my home (i'm laying laminate this week!)

*edit-typo*

[slackmaster]

38. Use the Wayback Machine

Have Mr. Wizard send you back about 10 years, then convince yourself to do whatever it takes to get into a house, ANY house.

I paid $141K for my house in San Diego in December 2004. It was a real stretch for me and my then-wife. Interest rates were a lot higher than they are now, and my salary a lot lower.

Now I've refinanced at 4.75% for 15 years fixed. Did that in May 2003 when rates were just about as low as they have been in the last 40 years.

It's always hard at first.

BTW - Automated valuation models like FreddieMac's Home Value Explorer presently put the value of my home, including some improvements I've done, at about $500K. It may be the best investment of my life.

[aquamarina]

59. I'll tell you how I did it.

In 2000, I bought a 2 bdm 1 bath condo for 131k. In 2004 I sold it for 341k. After paying off the note, commissions etc, my take was $186 (under the 250k limit for capital gains). I bought my second home for $500k (crazy, I know) by putting down only $100k (20% so as to avoid PMI) and have a 5 year fixed interest-only ARM (monthly payment of $1791 which is less than rent). Since I only plan on living in this place for 5 years it makes not one bit of difference that I am not paying down any of the principal. Unless there is a housing crash - and it really doesn't look likely here in Orange County - I can't lose. Appreciation is still pretty healthy and even if appreciation only grows at 10% over the next five years my place will be worth @ $750k (straight 10% appreciation is $50k a year).

I have no other debt, live alone and make a little less than you.

Believe me, it is possible.

[readmylips]

2. No wonder Californians are moving to AZ by the thousands....

A $470,920 or $656,690 home in AZ is a palace, but in California the same price home is a world-war II bungalow.

My nephew sold his California home for $600,000. The same week, he came to AZ and bought a palace-of-a-home for $350,000. His parents had paid $120,000 for the old California home. You got to be insane or super rich to live in California.

[LibDemAlways]

27. I know a woman who sold her modest

Simi Valley, CA home last year for over 400K and bought a Mcmansion north of Phoenix for a hundred thousand less. She's smiling.

[Itchinjim]

3. $470,920 is a median-priced home?!

Holy shit!

[Roland99]

5. That would be the top 5% of homes in Louisville!

[doodadem]

16. Louisville has great cost of living

Hey Roland--I'm from Louisville! Really miss it during Derby week...
But I find these real estate figures in Calif. fairly appalling--and somewhat misleading. All of Calif. is not either L.A. or San Fran, which is what I always tell people that can't believe we moved here 3 years ago.
We are closest to Fresno in the Central Valley, about 40 miles east of there or Visalia, either one. The figures they are giving for houses here look like NEW houses, and alot of spin by the real estate assoc. Plenty of people do sell their homes in the Bay or L.A., then come here and buy major real estate. But this is not a wealthy area, other than the big corporate farmers. I can't imagine regular people paying what they are talking about. But then, I can't imagine that 100K income qualifies anyone to buy a half $M house! No wonder there's so many bankruptcies in this country.
Granted, we found a really good deal. But my husband was willing to commute, and we were looking for LAND. I gave up my beautiful 3,000 ft. custom log home in Cincinnati to buy a crappy little farmhouse on 40 acres of the most beautiful land in this country. As I've mentioned before in other discussions, we are in the Sierra Nevadas, right beside Kings Canyon National Park. We paid about $60K for this gem, and have spent the past 3 years building a new horse barn, a dressage riding arena, and fencing. It is rustic however. Our only heat is woodburning. But our property is heavily wooded, and we've actually never felled the first tree yet. We had tons of them come down the first winter we were here in a big snowstorm, along with what came out for the arena. I grow alot of own vegetables, and we have our own little wildlife preserve, with mule deer, bobcats, coyotes, hawks, etc.
Our plan, when the economy does actually recover and not what Bushco is feeding us, is to add onto the little farmhouse one room at a time, and pay CASH to do it.

[question everything]

20. Sounds wonderful

When you are handy and love the land and know how to handle living in the country.

We are city folks and I cannot imagine not having pipes coming in - gas, water - and going out - sewage..

Also, we have to work and will never live where we have to commute more than 20 min. during regular rush hours. Life is too short and can be stressful as it is.

Seems like you have founded your dreams. Congratulations!

[Roland99]

35. Wow...I would love to be in your shoes...nice area!

But, the jobs aren't that numerous in that area to support a large # of people. The median is the middle number, not an average. I'd really like to see the *average* home cost.

[XemaSab]

61. A little north of you in the Oakhurst area

It's 300K for a house and 90K for a lot.

WAY too much for little ol' me.

I was looking at home prices in Arizona yesterday, and there are areas where you can get a 2 bedroom fixer-upper for 16K. I was thinking why not? At that price, it'd probably be a better investment than my 401K. You could pay it off, sell it for more than you paid, and use the money for a down payment for a home in California.

[SF Bay Area Dem]

6. I love California!

I paid 754k for my pad (new) in August of 2003 in a brand new area in the hills of the SF Bay Area and I absolutely love it! A similar home to mine that does not have near the backyard that mine does just sold for a tad above a million. Not a bad return eh? I was looking at pads in the Atlanta area as I was considering a move for a young lady that I was seeing and my jaw dropped open when I saw what I could get for my original 754k!

However, the opportunities and salaries that I can get here in California I could not get in Atlanta. My business is new media and hi end business development. My job cannot and will not be outsourced. If something happened to my company my options would be limited anywhere else. Besides Los Angeles the only other option for me and the money is New York City. The people that stay here and pay these prices for homes usually do so out of necessity. The Silicon Valley and SF BAy Area, despite the recent downturn is still the most incredible place on earth with billions being invested in new companies every quarter still...

Hopefully this will help others understand why we do it (pay what we do)as my story is the same for most of the people who live in California...

[readmylips]

7. Is Pad an apartment?

Or Condo? Same little box. San Francisco Bay area is nice to visit and find the exit quickly. Traffic is worse than the freeway. The freeway runs right though the middle of the town of San Francisco. What a nightmare! Mission Viejo is still the most beautiful city in California, for me.

[Athame]

13. In Santa Barbara county the median is well over a million

It was announced with great fanfare last June. You cannot buy any condo or house for less than 400,000. Mobile homes are still affordable, my 30year-old home in a nice park went for 125,000, but there is still the space rent and park owners doing everything possible to get rid of rent control. In one area that lost rent control, spaces went from a $400 average to $1200 in less than three months. People have to have two good incomes to live here at all. Many of my friends, who are single women with good jobs, some professional, still have to rent a room in a shared house. I moved 55 miles away from my job to avoid that.

[elsiesummers]

57. 109K salary is not enough to buy 470K house comfortably.

The only way this can work is with huge savings taken out of pension plans or down payment from previous real estate sold.

This is 94K down and 376K in mortgage payments (about $2250/mo on a 30year loan) plus property tax.

Nuts. Crazy talk.

Add in at least one car (payment plus insurance), student loans, 401Kcontributions, plus $1500/mo living expenses, on the cheap. Normal people making $109K cannot buy this 470K house - they need extra money from elsewhere - family, previous real estate, retirement fund.

[mike_c]

4. I'm a working professional with an ultra-secure job, a PhD, and...

...an income that is substantially higher than the local average. I cannot afford to buy a house in northern California, essentially Baja Oregon-- one of the less expensive parts of the state. I missed my window. Home prices were much lower here 10 years ago. Now they're totally out of reach.

[truthseeker1]

10. Give it a few years, the real estate marketf is plateauing and will head

downwards soon. Expect the foreclosures to start happening a few months after the interest rates start to rise - - this will probably take place before the end of the year...my guess is Fall. Now is the best time to sell a home. In a few years will be a GREAT time to get in on some good deals.

[question everything]

24. Mortgage habits driving up prices

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Mortgage habits driving up prices

Adjustable loans allow buyers to spend more.

By JONATHAN LANSNER
The Orange County Register

(snip)

Orange County buyers using adjustable-rate mortgages between 2000 and 2004 typically paid 73 percent more for a home than buyers using the same kind of financing in the previous five years. During the same period, folks with fixed-rate financing typically agreed to pay 55 percent more.

All told, adjustable-rate buyers generally paid $66,000 extra per home during the past five years than fixed-rate borrowers.

These spending variances support the notion that shoppers used the initial savings from adjustable-rate mortgages to bid up homes prices in recent years.

(snip)

I'm not saying that every adjustable mortgage is a risky bet. Nor do I think that such loans are the only reason why local home prices rose sharply.

(snip)

Some of the new variable loans offer protection from rate fluctuations in the form of fixed payments for up to 10 years. I'm also guessing that plenty of folks with adjustable deals borrowed judiciously, so they can afford payments under most economic scenarios.

(snip)

It's a reasonable bet to think there are Orange County homeowners at the fringe who can't truly afford their interest-rate gamble.

You hope for the sanity of the housing market that borrowers and bankers didn't get too greedy. I fear too many adjustable loans won't end happily if an ugly interest-rate surprise happens again.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/02/15/sections/business/business_columns/article_409325.php

[e-mail]

[SmokingJacket]

41. A side effect: some people are getting taxed out of their neighborhoods

I bought a cheap house seven years ago. It has almost tripled its assessed value. Great, you might think. Except that I'm now paying tax on a much more expensive house than I bought... really near the top of what I can afford. If it keeps going up, I don't know what I'm going to do because my income is NOT going up.

And if I wanted to sell it, I couldn't FIND a cheap house anymore.

[question everything]

49. That's what Prop. 13 did in California

I take it you are not in California?

As long as you stay in the house, your property tax cannot increase by more than 2%. And, really, when one compares housing prices in CA and in, say TX, it is not just the prices, it is the property taxes which are very high, I think, in TX.

This is why Warren Buffet has a house in Laguna Beach, I think, worth millions but his property tax is pathetic.

[SmokingJacket]

55. Oy vey, no.

New York. Local and state taxes, always high, are skyrocketing, as well as assessments -- so a double whammy.

Too bad there's no way of taxing excess....

[David__77]

9. Live in CA, I have a condo...

Luckily, my spouse had purchased a different condo when the market was low, and we pumped the equity out of it so that our mortgage isn't bad. But we have no near-term plans to "move up" in the market since our place is 1380 square feet and livable.

[newscott]

11. While I am a one income family

I was able to buy a house in my town, very small and old, in MA where home prices average over 300k. My house was almost half that price and I make a lot less than 100k a year.

It can be done.

I went through a lot of financial pain, took some retirement money and got a gift from my parents to make it happen, but it can be done.

First step, cut loose all your credit card debt.

[xxqqqzme]

12. just sold my Huntington Beach

home 2 my kids @ way - way - way under market. 5 years ago I bought it for $230,000 - selling now for $585,000. If I had not sold 2 my kids, they could not have afforded 2 purchase. There was no new tax assessment and I can now move 2 New Mexico where I can actually afford 2 live.

[n2doc]

14. can't go back...

I grew up in northern California, in Santa Rosa. Frankly I couldn't afford to move back there even if I wanted to, given the housing situation. I have a friend there who was only able to buy something (postage stamp lot, generic McHouse) with a lot of help from his parents. There will be a huge mess out there if/when interest rates go back up to 9-10% like in the 80's. People have short memories...When I bought my first house in 83 the interest rate was something like 11 percent, and a 700 dollar payment covered about 70K in loan. Today people are borrowing twice that for the same payment, but with all sorts of gotcha clauses that will come back to haunt them if rates rise...

[MrModerate]

15. The strategy is to have bought 15 years ago . . .

That's what I did, in a nice-but-not-too-nice community in the SF Bay Area called Alameda -- and struggled like a mofuh, even with two professional incomes in the house, to make the payments.

When we sold (about 5 years later) the appreciation on that house provided the down payment on the next one, qualifying us for a lower-rate monthly payment. We've leveraged once more and now have a mortgage on a WWII-style bungalow -- maybe a tad better -- that's manageable (but around that median price in the SF area).

We've now rented that place (since we're now overseas), and with the reasonable mortgage, the place is paying for itself.

Don't know if such a plan is possible anymore.

[not systems]

17. Rent is way under a mortgage now...

I rent about 1.2 million dollars worth of space for
about 2250 dollars.

You would have a hard time getting a new place to
pay for it's self as a rental.

[MrModerate]

18. Yeah . . . possibly not possible these days . . .

But we had to effectively cash in our appreciation on two other houses to lower the mortgage on the current one to what is effectively a market-rate rent (it's actually friends of ours, so we don't get *quite* market rate).

[dmallind]

19. Well maybe it's me but

I would NEVER get an ARM regardless of who was in office. Even if Warren Buffet were prez (please god!) I would not trust my shelter and home to the economic vagaries of interest rate fluctuation. With interest rates lower than ever over the last few years anyone capable of doing so who did not buy or refinance at lower rates is a fool. Anyone who was so greedy as to get a rate a mere 1% lower (normally that was the difference between ARMS and fixed when I was buying last Spring, and seemed to be consistent for quite a while) but was adjustable is a damned fool. Who would want an adjustable rate when the rates were the lowest in many decades of history? That's like betting on oil prices going down when it was $10.50 a barrel.

So assuming there aren't a whole host of fools in CA, the increase in interest rates will NOT, directly at least, impact their ability to own a home. My own payment is fixed and cannot change even if interest rates go to 18% again - I will pay 5.75%. The difference in my $300K mortgage between that 5.75% and the 4.75% ARM I was offered was less than $200 a month - under 10% of the total payment. However the likelihood of an arm rate exceeding 6.75% in a very few years is almost 100% then the ARM buyer has both more cost and more uncertainty than I do. Unless you KNOW you are going to sell in a short time period and can be VERY sure you will sell at a profit, an ARM is a bad bad idea, especially when we have a POTUS with the most disastrous economic policies imaginable.

So yep the ARM buyers - but only ARM buyers - in CA especially will be screwed. Hopefully there are few of them silly enough not to see this and they will lock in as soon as they can.

[MrModerate]

30. I think this is in response to another post

But I agree with you regarding how unattractive ARMs are. However, when we were looking at ARMs, they all seemed to be capped at a maximum 5% (or so) over the life of the loan, so you could be hurt but not ruined by the increase.

Maybe there were other ARMs out there without caps, but I never ran across them.

[slackmaster]

39. I feel the same way about ARMs

I would consider one only as a short-term bridge loan to use in the process of a complicated relocation.

[AlCzervik]

40. we bought our house 5 years ago in elk grove

at the time it was still an affordable place to live. We paid $209,000 in June of 2000 and if we were to sell we could put in on the market for roughly $525,000. It's insane.

[progressivebydesign]

21. Sold a cramped 1,300sq ft. 70's tract home last year in Calif.

We had doubled our initial investment into the home, in TWO years. We had no plans to turn it over so fast, but the opportunity came to move out of state.. where the money could actually buy a decent house, AND schools where they are not firing the teachers, and libraries that are actually open nights, and parks that are actually maintained. I was born and raised in California, and there are some things I miss about it... BUT I'll never go back. Never. Being able to wear shorts on Christmas Day, or see a celebrity in a grocery store means jack, when compared to a life where you get actual seasons, where your schools are at least decently funded, and your house appreciates.. BUT it does not put you out of the market.

The area I was living in, San Luis Obispo County, had some really lovely things about it. But people were delusional to think it was some kind of paradise. When you can't buy a house, even with two full time jobs, then it's not paradise. It's a grind.

[Name removed]

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[question everything]

26. And do you think that Texas is Lilly-white?

If this is what bothers you, think again. Perhaps spend a week, or so, in your future neighborhood.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tedzbear]

34. Los Angeles is a "melting pot," to borrow a phrase I learned in school.

This is nothing new in American history. So stop your belly aching and get a life.

:mad:

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[carolinayellowdog]

29. Huge net domestic outmigration numbers

Hey,

A new book, Who We Are Now by Sam Roberts, examines various demographic trends, and those concerning CA migration are shocking. Of the ten largest state-to-state migration flows between 1995 and 2000, five were people leaving CA:
#3 CA to NV 199,125
#4 CA to AZ 186,151
#5 CA to TX 182,789
#7 CA to WA 155,577
#8 CA to OR 131,836

and in case you're wondering, first and second places were NY to FL and NJ respectively.

What shocked me was that 1.4 million people moved into CA from other states but 2.2 million moved out. But immigrants from other countries (and natural gain) prevented a population loss. CA received 209,000 non-Hispanic whites from other countries, 660,000 Hispanics, and 377,000 Asians in the same time frame.

CYD

PS-- And a tidbit for the Southerners reading this-- there was a net outmigration of African Americans from the Northeast, West, and Midwest. The top five state for domestic in-migration of African Americans were (in order) GA at 130k, NC, FL, MD, and TX.

[tedzbear]

31. Both parents have to work to afford a home nowadays.

No longer does mom get to stay home to take care of the kids. Ozzie & Harriet is a thing of the long ago past. Today, Harriet would be holding down a full time job.

This means today's economy is on fragile footing. If one parent loses their job it means it won't be long before the couple defaults on their mortgage.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[question everything]

42. Median Price of Home Rose 8.8% to $187,500 In the Fourth Quarter

Median Price of Home Rose 8.8% to $187,500 In the Fourth Quarter

By KEMBA J. DUNHAM
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 16, 2005; Page D3

(snip)

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of a single-family home rose 8.8% to $187,500 in the fourth quarter of 2004, compared with the year-earlier quarter.

Prices appreciated much faster in the hottest housing markets, and a record number of metropolitan areas experienced double-digit price growth. Of the 129 metro areas that the NAR tracks, 62 saw home prices rise 10% or more. That was the largest number of cities with double-digit price increases since the NAR began publishing such data in 1982.

(snip)

The biggest price increase was in the Las Vegas region, where the median price of a single-family home was $281,400 in the fourth quarter, up 47.3% from a year earlier. The second-strongest increase occurred in the Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., area, where the median price was $322,400, up 34.7%. In third place was the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach area of Florida, with a fourth-quarter median price of $338,800, a 34% increase over the previous year. The median is the midway price, with half of all homes selling for more than the median and half selling for less. In the third quarter of 2004, the national annual rate of home-price appreciation was 7.5%

Prices declined in four metropolitan areas: Indianapolis; Austin, Texas; Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas; and Charleston, W.Va. NAR economist David Lereah said these areas currently are facing either local economic weakness or have a large supply of homes on the market.

Write to Kemba J. Dunham at [e-mail]

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110843999027254974,00.html

[deacon2]

44. Bought at the top of the last CA rollercoaster

1989 - An FHA condo at 11% interest in Orange County. My father-in-law said, "you could buy dirt in CA and not be wrong." Oh, really? Watched in horror as it lost 35% of value overnight. Aerospace collapsed. Small businesses died as the great beast of the SoCal economy fell to its knees. My friends were mailing in their keys to the banks, some upside down 200k plus in their mortgages. Lost my recording studio. Lost my day gig. But I held on, barely.

2002 - Sold the condo for a 75k profit. Slid into a new house I could barely, barely afford. As in, barely.

2004 - New house has appreciated on paper by 300 thousand dollars. I say again - 300 thousand dollars! I have a fixed 30 year at 5.25%. And I can still barely afford it. And as I read the news, I remember the bad old days. And I look around at all my neighbors, many with precarious jobs (my wife and I have lost three between us in 5 years. Hers was 23 years as Director of Production. Now she's a "salesperson") and all the bullshit ARMs and other "vehicles" that only R.J. Ringer (Looking Out for #1) could love and I say...

For Sale?

[slackmaster]

46. My brother went through the same drill

He's an officer in the US Navy. Bought a house in northern San Diego County (Escondido) in 1989, then set himself up even better by buying new vehicles for himself and his wife AND having their first child.

He took about a $70K bath on the house when he had to pick up stakes and move to Japan for his next deployment. Also had to put brand new car and pickup into a storage unit. Should have rented or stayed with our mom.

[kat21]

47. I am a single woman living in Los Angeles who -

bought a house 2 1/2 years ago for $250,000 with no $$ down. I am a legal assistant so you can imagine my salary, while not great, is decent. In any case, I was still supporting my son fully until he finally found part-time work in December. With all that said, I was still able to make my first and second mortgage payments totalling $1,880, annual property tax payment of $3,100, property insursance and home warranty policy. I have recently refinanced to 1 mortgage with less interest and now my monthly payment are much less.

To you folks who think you cannot afford to buy, please talk to an accountant about how owning will change your income tax deductions. I take the maximum deductions and still get a tax refund. Yes it was extremely difficult the first couple of years but, fortunately, my only other debt was a low balance on a Visa card. Oh boy am I looking forward to having some money to travel again!

Incidentally, I never thought I could afford to buy either. Please explore all options!

[slackmaster]

51. Why is your property tax so high?

First of all, you've given some good advice here and thank you!

I bought my home in San Diego 10 years ago for $141,000, it's presently assessed at about $167,000, and my tax for this year was about $1,900 - Assessments have been going up at the Prop. 13 maximum of 2% per year.

If you paid $250 K total your property tax should have been about $2,500 for the first year, and add 2% per year since then.

Does that include some additional tax that I'm not subject to?

[kat21]

56. Wow, $1,900 would be nice -

I'm in L.A. County and I think the taxes, car insurance, etc. tend to be higher here than in San Diego.

[Maine-ah]

48. man, I love Maine.

we bought our first house a few years ago. an acre of land, 3 br ranch, full DRY cellar, and five minutes from the ocean. for 85,000. My taxes are $800.00 a yr.

[newscott]

50. How's mud season?

:evilgrin:

[Maine-ah]

58. muddy.

:shrug:

[neuvocat]

52. This is highly unlikely.

The bubble has already burst out here in the most expensive city in the state (San Diego) and houses are going on the market more and more in what are considered the "nicer" areas. Condos have dropped some 40,000 in the last year and its all due to the same problem: there are less people who are able to find and keep high-paying jobs.

I live in an apartment complex that has rent that's so cheap we used to have a waiting list during the Clinton years. Just recently we had a place they had to advertise and the sign wasn't taken down for a couple of weeks (until today. Sorry folks). That's what happens with the Bush years: people have a hard time coming up with even the cheap rent.

[Xithras]

53. It REALLY depends on where you live.

I have friends in SF and the Bay Area who have watched their property values flatten out or even deflate slightly over the past two years, and yet the houses in my part of the Central Valley are still climbing rapidly. When I bought my house a year ago, it was appraised at $225,000. I just had it reappraised for a refinance, and it's now worth $320,000...that's almost a $100,000 increase in a single year!

Basically, the most expensive areas of California have ceased moving upwards because of wage issues, but the rest of the state is still inflating to catch up with them. As the bottom of the market continues to climb, the states median housing cost continues to go up even without further inflation in the high end market.

[rinsd]

62. Are you kidding?

My boss's house has more than doubled in value since he bought it in 1999.

A 500 square foot shack around the corner from me sold for $550,000 tow months ago.

I've been lucky that my rent has stayed the same since I moved 3 years ago. It's gone up $200 to $400 for similar places in the same location.

[Piperay]

54. I'm in a burb of Los Angeles County and

the prices here are out of this world. The house my parents paid around twelve thousand dollars for in the 1950s is worth almost a million dollars now and it is just a ranch style tract house. :wow:

[zann725]

60. I heard foreclosures are "up" in CA the last few months. No wonder.

And it'll no doubt get worse.

[98geoduck]

63. so much for moving to CA anytime soon. I love Santa Cruz, but way

out of my price range.