One of the more esoteric debates on the fundamental value of houses centers on whether or not houses appreciate faster than the overall rate of inflation. Nobody who isn’t kool aid intoxicated believes house prices rise much more than the level of inflation because intelligent people understand trees cannot grow to the sky. If house prices consistently went up in value faster than price or wage inflation, over time, people would lose their ability to afford to buy houses because [Read More...]
The OC Housing News profiles properties for sale each day and presents current market data on each city in Orange County. If you really want to know what’s happening in the OC Housing market, you need to read the OC Housing news and subscribe to the our monthly newsletter. Redfin is the most popular real estate search site in Southern California. They track the most popular listings based on the number of views each receives. Below are some of the [Read More...]
Extraordinary HELOC abuse If you had put $2,550 in a savings account in 1996, you would have less than $4,000 today. There was no investment in 1996 that could have turned $2,550 into $423,050 — that is except California real estate. Today’s featured property cost $152,500 on 10/18/1996. The owner used a $149,950 first mortgage and a $2,550 down payment. On 3/31/1998 he refinanced with a $148,978 first mortgage. On 8/1/2002 he refinanced with a $254,600 first mortgage. On 7/23/2003 [Read More...]
Rents have been rising in Irvine and in Orange County since early 2010 when we began to pull out of the recession. The trick is to identify the reason for this increase. If it’s due to a recovering economy, then the recent rent increases are normal and sustainable; however, if it’s due to another cause, the recent uptick in rents may be a bubble waiting to pop. Some amount of the increase in rents is likely due to improved economic [Read More...]
First-time homebuyer presentation 6:30 Wednesday March 7. Housing: The 6-Year Bust February 28, 2012 — by Jacob Goldstein NPRCase Shiller 20-city composite, not seasonally adjusted U.S. home prices hit a new, post-bubble low at the end of last year, according to today’s Case Shiller numbers. A few noteworthy details: The housing bust is now nearly six years old. Understandable, perhaps, given the size of the bubble and the endless, painful slog through millions of foreclosures. Still, six years is a [Read More...]
A Brief History of the Housing Bubble From 2003 to 2006, American lenders and borrowers inflated a massive housing bubble. From 2007 to 2012, this bubble has been deflating, but the bottom is proving elusive. The housing market is closer to the bottom than to the top, and if a viable solution can be found to bring supply and demand into balance, the tremendous affordability from low prices and low interest rates will help a bottom form in the near [Read More...]
This ugly old condo is a 1991 rollback! Twenty years, zero appreciation. Actually, that’s not quite true, it did fall, then rise, then fall again. At one point, a bank believed this was worth $290,000. Now they have it as an REO, and they are looking at a 62% decline in price from the peak. Ouch! – —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- [Read More...]
Prices across most of Orange County continue to decline. The OC Register reports prices have hit a near three-year low. My own analysis of the MLS data shows Irvine teetering on the brink of taking out the 2009 low and setting a new eight-year record low. O.C. home prices hit 31-month low December 13th, 2011, 9:39 am Orange County’s home pricing got hit with autmun’s chill, as builders had a record-worst sales month. DataQuick reported this morning that 2,297 residence [Read More...]
This small condo was purchased near the peak of the 90′s housing bubble. Over the last 20 years, it has gained less than 20% in value for an annual appreciation of less than 1%. The owner who paid $104,500 in 2004 sold it two years later for $215,000. That buyer got wiped out. The 70% decline is similar in scale to a Las Vegas property. ——————————————————————– This property is available for sale via the MLS. Please contact Shevy Akason, #01836707 [Read More...]
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