Fed Chief - Cooling Housing Market

Housing Cool-Down Is 'Orderly,' Fed Chief Says: "Housing Cool-Down Is 'Orderly,' Fed Chief SaysBy Tomoeh Murakami TseWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, May 19, 2006; Page D01Confirming what home buyers suspected and real estate sales figures have indicated for months, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that the U.S. housing market was showing clear signs of cooling off.

Bernanke said the slowdown is 'moderate' and 'orderly' and pointed to the overall strength of the economy

Economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy and Research expressed concern that rising interest rates were squeezing homeowners who took out interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages. Even when interest rates were at historically low levels, Baker said, stretched buyers were taking out exotic loans to get into pricey homes.

Baker said a rising inventory of homes in the Washington region could fuel a double-digit price decline if interest rates climb higher. Condo prices could fall by as much as 30 percent, and prices of single-family homes could drop by as much as 15 percent, he said.
Real estate websites under development:  La Jolla real estate  -  Del Mar real estate  -  Poway real estate  - 
Sacramento real estate  -  San Francisco real estate  -

 Orange County real estate  -  San Jose real estate  -  Los Angeles real estate

Inside Bay Area - Bay Area real estate sales hit 5-year low

Inside Bay Area - Bay Area real estate sales hit 5-year low: "Bay Area real estate sales hit 5-year low
By Eve Mitchell, BUSINESS WRITER



Sundays — the days when many real estate professionals set up open houses — have been a lot quieter lately for Daniel Joe, a Redwood City-based Realtor.
Call it one of the hidden signs of the slowing real estate market, which last month saw the lowest level of Bay Area home sales in five years, according to a report Thursday from DataQuick Information Systems. It started last spring, when sales dropped off as the number of homes on the market began to rise and so did interest rates. Now sales are sliding, interest rates are even higher and prices are increasing at a lower rate.
When the housing market was hot, so was attendance by prospective buyers at open houses. Not so in today's cooling market.
'I don't see a whole bunch of people walking through the properties all at one time,' said Joe, who works at Realty World Hirsch & Associates in Redwood
City.
The Bay Area median price did reach a new record in April, DataQuick said. But the new peak of $628,000 is not that much to get excited about, given that sales volume dropped 25.1 percent from a year ago.
Some 8,358 new and resale condominiums changed hands in the Bay Area last month — the slowest April since 2001 when 7,193 homes were sold, and a 14.2 percent decline from March. "
Real estate websites under development:  La Jolla real estate  -  Del Mar real estate  -  Poway real estate  - 
Sacramento real estate  -  San Francisco real estate  -

 Orange County real estate  -  San Jose real estate  -  Los Angeles real estate

Home Sales at Five Year Low

May 16, 2006La Jolla,CA----Home sales in Southern California decelerated in April to their slowest pace since 2001, the result of higher mortgage interest rates and less buyer urgency. Prices rose at a single-digit appreciation rate for the first time in more than four years, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 24,748 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in April. That was down 16.1 percent from 29,509 in March and down 21.3 percent from 31,431 in April last year.
The year-over-year sales decline was the steepest since April 1995, when home purchases slowed 24.0 percent. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any April since 24,120 homes were sold in April 2001. DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988, show an average April for the nineteen years saw 23,660 sales.
"March and April have shown us that the boom phase of this cycle is behind us, so now it's just a question of how the cycle ends. Right now it looks like changes in the real estate market are happening gradually. But there's a lot of uncertainty among analysts regarding the effect of higher interest rates and how fast the economy is generating demand in regional markets," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

San Diego for sale by owner

Southern California real estate

DQNews - Southern California Press Release: "Southland passes half million mark
April 18, 2006
La Jolla,CA----The median price paid for a Southern California home passed $500,000 for the first time last month as sales continued to decline, the result of higher mortgage interest rates and a real estate cycle that has passed its frenzy phase, a real estate information service reported.
The median price paid for a home in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties was $501,000 last month. That was up 4.4 percent from $480,000 in February and up 14.1 percent from $439,000 for March a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
The regional year-over-year increase in median has varied from 12.9 percent to 17.0 percent the last 12 months. Last month's increase ranged from 5.7 percent in San Diego County to 23.2 percent in San Bernardino County.
'We still expect the annual increase in median to go down into the single digits sometime this summer. San Diego County is still the market furthest along in this cycle. Price increases there have been below ten percent the last eleven months,' said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.
A total of 29,509 new and resale Southland homes were sold last month. That was up 48.2 percent from 19,905 in February and down 9.7 percent from 32,674 for March last year.
An increase from February to March is normal for the season. Sales have declined on a year-over-year basis the last 4 months. "
Latest new real estate sites still being built are:Poway real estateDel Mar real estate La Jolla real estate

Southern California real estate

DQNews - Southern California Press Release: "Southland passes half million mark
April 18, 2006
La Jolla,CA----The median price paid for a Southern California home passed $500,000 for the first time last month as sales continued to decline, the result of higher mortgage interest rates and a real estate cycle that has passed its frenzy phase, a real estate information service reported.
The median price paid for a home in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties was $501,000 last month. That was up 4.4 percent from $480,000 in February and up 14.1 percent from $439,000 for March a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
The regional year-over-year increase in median has varied from 12.9 percent to 17.0 percent the last 12 months. Last month's increase ranged from 5.7 percent in San Diego County to 23.2 percent in San Bernardino County.
'We still expect the annual increase in median to go down into the single digits sometime this summer. San Diego County is still the market furthest along in this cycle. Price increases there have been below ten percent the last eleven months,' said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.
A total of 29,509 new and resale Southland homes were sold last month. That was up 48.2 percent from 19,905 in February and down 9.7 percent from 32,674 for March last year.
An increase from February to March is normal for the season. Sales have declined on a year-over-year basis the last 4 months. "
Latest new real estate sites still being built are:poway/'>http://www.poway-real-estate.info">Poway real estatedel/'>http://www.del-mar-real-estate.info">Del Mar real estate la/'>http://www.la-jolla-real-estate.info">La Jolla real estate

Study Indicates Rise In Hispanic Home Ownership

Study Indicates Rise In Hispanic Home Ownership - Yahoo! News: "Study Indicates Rise In Hispanic Home Ownership Thu May 11, 8:37 PM ET


While the overall housing market continues to slow, one success story continues to flourish -- the housing boom for Hispanic homebuyers.
ADVERTISEMENT

After years of renting, Priscilla Saavedra and her husband, Vicente, took the plunge in mid-April, buying a two-bedroom townhouse in San Marcos.
'We're starting to build a family, nice to be finally home,' said Priscilla Saavedra.
Saavedra is not alone.
Across the country, the number of Hispanic homebuyers is climbing dramatically, especially if you look at the name game.
An analysis of public records by San Diego-based DataQuick reveals the top 10 most common homebuyer names in 2005.
On this list appear four Hispanic names, double the amount of 5 years ago.
Included on the list are: Rodriguez, Garcia, Hernandez, and Gonzalez.
The story in California is even more revealing, where the five most common surnames are Hispanic.
Almost 28 percent of all homebuyers in the state are Hispanic, according to a 2005 study."

60% Increase in Foreclosures!

First-quarter foreclosure activity in the state jumped to its highest level in two years, including a nearly 60 percent rise in San Diego County, a real estate information service reported Tuesday.

"A number of factors are driving defaults higher," said Marshall Prentice, president of La Jolla-based DataQuick. "The main one right now is that home values are rising more slowly than they have been the past couple of years, which makes it more difficult for homeowners to sell their homes and pay off the lender."

According to DataQuick, lenders sent 18,668 default notices to California homeowners in the first three months of the year. That's a 23.4 percent increase over the previous quarter and a 28.7 percent jump over the same period last year.
In San Diego County, lenders sent 1,533 default notices in the first quarter, a 59.7 percent jump over the same quarter of 2005, when 960 notices were sent.

For San Diego, these are the best real estate sites: San Diego real estate - San Diego coastal real estate - San Diego downtown real estate - San Diego for sale by owner real estate