Housing Trends

California Tops Nation With The Five Most Expensive Housing Markets

December 18, 2012 by admin

San Francisco Skyline - Wallingford Real Estate

The San Francisco Area Has Some Of The Most Expensive Markets In The Country

The most expensive markets in the country are centered around the tech industry’s Silicon Valley, which is home of such corporate giants as Google and Facebook. Income in these markets is among the highest in the country. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, median household income in these cities far exceeds the U.S. median income by at least $20,000.

#1 – Los Altos, California

– Avgerage listing price: $1,706,688

– Median household income: $149,964

In Los Altos, the average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home lists for nearly $50,000 more than any other city in the nation. Asking prices in the San Jose metro area have risen 12.7% year-over-year, according to Trulia. This is more than nearly every other metro area in the country.

#2- Newport Beach, California

– Average listing price: $1,658,000

– Median household income: $107,007

Home prices are so high in the city that in 2009 a buyer bought a nine-bedroom, 11,000 square feet home for $23 million – and then tore it down. In 2011 the empty plot of land was listed for $26.5 million. The area boasts a vacancy rate of just 1.5%, among the ten lowest in the nation.

#3 – Saratoga, California

– Avgerage listing price: $1,582,434

– Median household income: $145,023

After seeing housing prices tumble by 25.1% in the area during the downturn in the market, Saratoga is yet another example of how the Silicon Valley housing market has recovered. Currently, the median price per square foot for homes in the area is $337, coming in behind only San Francisco and Honolulu.

#4 – Menlo Park, California

– Avgerage listing price: $1,506,909

– Median household income: $107,860

Menlo Park is one of just four cities where the average listing price for a four-bedroom home exceeds $1.5 million. As of 2010, the median income in the city was slightly below $108,000.

#5 – Palo Alto, California

– Average listing price: $1,495,364

– Median household income: $120,670

48.7% of adults in Palo Alto have a graduate or professional degree – more than four times the national rate of 10.3%. The city is a large employer of highly skilled employees, as 25.3% of its workers are employed in professional, scientific and management occupations. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg bought a $7 million home here last year.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

San Francisco Micro Living

September 29, 2012 by admin

San Francisco Could Allow Smallest Apartments In The Country

San Francisco lawmakers are considering a change to the building code that would allow some of the smallest apartments in the country.

The proposed apartments, known as micro apartments, feature a living space of just 150 square feet, 220 square feet when the kitchen, closet, and bathroom are included. In San Francisco, current building codes require that just a living room alone be 220 square feet.

The mini apartments are targeted for the large population of single people living in the city, and feature window seats that convert into a spare bed, and a bed that transforms into a table.

Those in favor of the micro units say that the smaller apartments would provide a more affordable housing option to the many of the city’s single residents who have been priced out of the rental market as the region experiences a resurgence in job growth,

The apartments would likely rent for $1,200 to $1,500 a month and could accommodate up to two people. The average apartment rent in San Francisco is $2,734.

Opponents have spoken out against the micro units, arguing that the smaller apartments would boost population density and strain public transit.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Urban Living Outpacing The Suburbs

July 10, 2012 by admin

New Census data indicates that for the first time since the 1920’s, urban areas are growing faster than their suburban counterparts.

Twenty seven of the 51 largest urban metropolitan areas across the nation exceeded their suburbs in population growth from April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011. This is a trend that has been underway since the 2007.

Historically the growth of the suburbs has been fueled by young urban families leaving the city and establishing homes in the suburbs. However with tougher economic times many young adults are opting to remain in the city rather than purchase suburban homes.

The traditional influx of young college graduates into urban areas continues, young people are moving into and staying in the city, but fewer are getting out.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

The Return Of Multiple Offers

April 28, 2012 by admin

Wallingford Real Estate - Wallingford, PA - Multiple Offers - Bidding Wars

Multiple Offers Are Returning To The Marketplace

During the real estate sales boom several years ago it was not uncommon for homes to receive multiple offers on their first day on the market. This characterized a surging demand by buyers during the peak years, when everyone wanted to be a part of the game. Today multiple offers are thought to signify an increasing shortage of homes in many parts of the country.

While I would not whole heartily agree that we are facing a shortage of inventory locally, there is ample evidence to show that multiple offers are on the increase. In the past three weeks I have written three purchase contracts, and two of them involved multiple offers which were successfully negotiated. Fellow agents are also talking about encountering multiple bid scenarios. Locally I think multiple bid situations reflect a shortage of properly priced homes that have been readied properly by the sellers.

In many parts of the country inventory levels are declining for several reasons:

– Sellers have been unwilling to come to terms with the reality of prices in the current market and have taken their homes off the market in anticipation of higher prices somewhere down the road. To that point there are some predictions that on a national level the forecast of a 1% downturn in prices is now being forecast into a slight 1% gain in prices for the year.

– The return of investors to the market with all cash offers, also has contributed to quicker sales and a thinning of housing inventory.

– Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and many large banks have been slow to release their backlog of foreclosed properties to the market.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that in their recent quarterly survey inventory levels in 28 markets that were measured nationwide, all reported that inventory levels are down sharply. At the height of the housing crisis in 2008 there was a 11.1 month supply of inventory, in March that inventory level had fallen to 6.3 months. As of today in Wallingford there is a 9.3 month supply of homes on the market.

A key point for buyers to remember is that a properly priced home that is in market ready condition is likely to attract a lot of interest in today’s market, and that multiple offer scenarios are a situation that you and your agent should be prepared and strategize for.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Down Payment Amounts Remain Stable

April 24, 2012 by admin

: The Median Down Payment Is 11 Percent

Down payments greater than or equal to 20 percent were made by 34 percent of all residential home purchasers last month, a percentage that has remained relatively stable over the past year, according to the latest REALTOR® Confidence Index survey from the National Association of REALTORS®.

For both conventional and FHA loans, which require only a 3.5 percent down payment, NAR reported the median down payment for all buyers was 11 percent in 2010-2011. First time buyers put about 5 percent down in 2011. Repeat buyers, pooling equity with savings, typically put down about 15 percent.

The states with the highest median down payments were Washington, D.C. (13.5 percent), New York (13.47 percent), Hawaii (13.33 percent) and California (13.22 percent). The state with the lowest average down payment is North Dakota, where buyers put down an average of 11.34 percent.

Down payments are a major barrier to first-time buyers, whose market share has dwindled since the home buyer tax credits expired in 2010. Half of all potential buyers planning to buy in two years or more are waiting in part because they lack the money for a down payment or closing costs.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

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S. Clark Kendus