California 2009 Housing Market Forecast: Sales Rise,
Prices Slip
Home prices throughout most areas of California will post declines next year
while sales of existing homes will continue to rise in 2009, according to the
California Association of Realtors’ “2009 California Housing Market Forecast,”
released recently. “The current uncertainty about the financial system and
economy is likely to persist over the next several weeks, and could extend into
next year,” said C.A.R. President William Brown. “Our forecast assumes the
financial system will begin to show signs of stabilization late in 2008 and
into early 2009.”
The median home price in the state will decline 6 percent to
$358,000 in 2009, compared with a projected median of $381,000 this year,
according to the forecast. Sales for 2009 are projected to increase 12.5
percent to 445,000 units compared with 395,600 units projected this year.
“We expect the economy will be at its weakest period over
the next three quarters through the second quarter of 2009…before we begin to
see a turnaround in the second half of next year,” said Brown. “Going forward,
a great deal depends on the state of the financial system in general and the
real estate finance situation in particular, as well as the flow of distressed
sales through the market. We expect sales of distressed properties to peak in
early 2009…Looking ahead, home prices and favorable interest rates in 2009 will
contribute to gains in affordability,” Brown explained.
Sales in 2008 will be ahead of last year by 12 percent,
according to C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. She added that the
“median price will be influenced through the balance of 2008 by the typical
seasonal decrease in home prices as well as ongoing downward pressure from
distressed sales. For all of 2008, the median price is expected to fall by 31.7
percent from $558,100 to $381,000.”
Foreclosure Rescue Scams Prey On Homeowners
Beware if someone who is NOT your mortgage lender promises
to save your home and asks for you to pay money upfront. Fraudulent foreclosure
consultants are targeting desperate homeowners who are behind on their mortgage
payments, cautions California Attorney General Edmund Brown, Jr. The attorney
general’s warning comes on the heels of the arrest earlier this month of three
members of a fraud ring who preyed on homeowners by falsely promising to
renegotiate their home loans but instead ripped them off for thousands of
dollars while their homes went into foreclosure. Typically the scam started
with a flyer sent to the homeowner.
To avoid being a victim, the attorney general’s office says
do not transfer title or sell your home to the foreclosure rescuer, do not pay
money to people who promise to work with your lender to modify your loan, do
not pay your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender, and do not
ignore letters from your lender. For assistance, contact a housing counselor
approved by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development at
1-800-877-8339 or www.hud.gov. Also consider
contacting the Homeownership Preservation Foundation at 1-800-995-HOPE or www.995hope.org.
Joanne sells San Diego, including Carlsbad, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos, Santaluz, and Solana Beach.
Each office is independently owned and operated.
Joanne Fishman, REALTOR® Prudential California Realty
6105 La Granada, Suite R
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
jf@joannefishman.com Office: 858-756-4900
Mobile: 858-945-8333
