As Home Sales Recover, New Markets Emerge

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As Home Sales Recover, New Markets Emerge

Date Added: September 11, 2009 08:35:03 AM
Author: Nicole.Nelson
Category: Real estate & Construction
When the U.S. housing market hit an all-time low this past January, homes were either being sold for significantly less than they were worth or not sold at all. With no bottom in sight, people began to panic and take what they could get. Markets that were once very popular, in places like California, began to infamously collapse.   Many of the booming economies in California, such as Orange County, were once driven by the swelling housing bubble. Many jobs were created by construction, real estate, retail and mortgage lending and helped fuel the market. But since the housing bubble burst, many jobs disappeared overnight. With no jobs, unemployment rates and foreclosures skyrocketed throughout the state, leaving many popular markets deflated and many residents on the street.   According to a recent CNNMoney.com report, California is home to three of the five least affordable cities to buy a house. The 5th worst market to buy a house is Santa Ana. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, who counts Santa Ana as part of the Los Angeles metro area for calculating unemployment rate, reports that Santa Ana experienced a 10.8 percent unemployment rate. Home prices in Santa Ana have dropped significantly, 38 percent, from the high it hit in mid-2006, when the median home sold for $630,000. That drop has raised the affordability score of 43.1 percent of homes sold during the last quarter.   The 4th least affordable city in the United States is the sprawling housing market of Los Angeles which experienced their peak during the third quarter of 2006.  Only 1.8 percent of all homes sold were affordable to the median family. Since the peak, prices have plummeted from $530,000 to the current median of $294,000, according to the NAHB-Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. This drastic drop is close to 45 percent, causing a landslide of foreclosures and more than 106,000 properties receiving foreclosure filings during the first half of 2009, according to RealtyTrac.   Home prices in the Bay Area have been dropping drastically since its peak in 2006, making San Francisco the 2nd worst housing market in the country. The median house, which sold for $769,000 during the peak, has now fallen to $580,000. Only 26.9 percent of families can afford living in San Francisco, as foreclosures have totaled 32,439 for the first six months of 2009 alone.   As Californian markets continue to crash, sales of new homes in the United States surged 9.6 percent this July. The increase was driven by falling prices that reached a historic bottom earlier this year. According to the Commerce Department, sales are up more than 30 percent from the bottom in January.   As the economy and housing market recovers, people are relocating into more affordable areas of the country, where the standards for living balance more appropriately with necessities of life. The Austin metro area, which includes Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock and Georgetown, is experiencing a continuing momentum of sales volume and maintaining a steady median home price. As prices in the area have remained above 2007 levels, which was one of the most lucrative years of the last decade in Austin real estate, long-term stability, especially in the face of market fluctuations, bodes well for the Austin metro’s future.   A great resource to find out more about the Austin metro, like Georgetown, Texas, homes is through local websites, like www.georgetowncustomhomes.com. The author, Edward Lui, has done your homework for you in the city of Georgetown and can help you find the right home for your retirement.  Edward is also able to provide professional services for Cedar Park real estate, Round Rock real estate, Leander Real estate and other surrounding communities in the Hill Country. Ethan Luke. Georgetown Texas Homes- For information on Georgetown Texas homes and communities, visit GeorgetownCustomHomes.com.