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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (41344)	9/14/2005 11:19:35 AM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Rise in home prices more subdued By: CHRIS BAGLEY - Staff Writer Home prices in Riverside County rose slightly in August, while new tracts in neighboring San Bernardino County led Southern California's home prices to record highs, according to a monthly survey by DataQuick, a La Jolla-based research firm. The median home price in Riverside County inched up to $388,000 from $385,000 in July. Prices have risen from $334,000 in August 2004, a 16 percent rate that far exceeds gains in family incomes. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less. Recent gains in prices nevertheless represent a slowing from the 30 percent and 40 percent rates of last year. Many agents credit the large supply of new homes with helping to control prices. The number of homes sold last month in most Southern California counties remained just below record highs set in recent months. In Riverside County, for example, 6,452 homes changed hands in August, compared with a recent high of 6,485 in June. Those numbers include both new and resale homes. While buyers are still coming into the market, the larger supply means they have a bit more bargaining power than they did a year ago, especially with resale homes. "The market is still balanced and stable," DataQuick President Marshall Prentice said in a statement released Tuesday. "Demand still appears to be strong. There are more homes on the market than last spring." Across Southern California, the median price rose 17 percent from $407,000 a year ago to a record $476,000 with near-record numbers of homes sold, DataQuick reported. The region was led by San Bernardino County, where home prices have continued to rise at annual rates of about 30 percent. The typical home sale last month was $344,000, versus $261,000 a year ago. The gains there come partly from growth in new housing tracts that are priced above existing homes, real-estate agents have said in recent interviews. They're also being fueled by investors who believe the prices there will continue to rise, some agents say. Andrew Warburton, a Realtor with RE/Max Experience in Temecula, said he no longer recommends Southwest Riverside County homes as short-term investments, as he did a year ago. "You could go in with your eyes closed and buy anything and make money," Warburton said in an interview last month. "That's not the case anymore. If they want the price hikes, I tell them to go to Victorville, Hesperia or Apple Valley" in San Bernardino County, Warburton said. Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2615, or cbagley@californian.com. nctimes.com

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (41344)	9/15/2005 6:35:26 AM
From: KM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Maybe they're waiting for her to shut up. What a idiot. <<However, Karen Peterson, last year's president of the realty association, said sellers shouldn't panic and buyers should not hesitate if they find what they want. "I think we're still adjusting," Peterson said. "Last year was such a hot market." She said that in a few cases buyers are outbidding each other. Areas where prices are down saw rapid increases earlier. But the big bugaboo remains the anticipation that the proverbial real estate "bubble" will burst. "People think prices are going to go down and the statistics keep telling us they're not," Peterson said. "They need to buy. We have an excellent inventory, excellent interest rates. What are they waiting for?>>