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- Newsgroups: misc.invest.real-estate
- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!ames!purdue!decwrl!adobe!usenet
- From: hamachi@adobe.com (Gordon Hamachi)
- Subject: Real Estate News Summary, Part 129
- Message-ID: <1992Nov20.212324.18383@adobe.com>
- Sender: usenet@adobe.com (USENET NEWS)
- Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
- Distribution: usa
- Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 21:23:24 GMT
- Lines: 59
-
- Real Estate News Summary, Part 129, October, 1992
-
- 1015.Fortunately, not everyone bought homes at the peak in 1988-89. Even with
- a 10-15% decline in Bay Area property values, most longtime homeowners
- still have huge residual equity in their homes. [San Francisco Examiner]
-
- 1016.Pacific Greystone recently purchased lots at discounts as much as 35% from
- prices in the late '80s. The transaction should make Southern California
- homeowners uneasy. Some builders expect California land prices to fall as
- much as 50% from their 1989 peak. [Wall Street Journal]
-
- 1017.Some people think that because home prices have come down a bit it's time
- to go up again, but they will not really go up until incomes meet prices.
- Housing prices in weak markets must either fall or stagnate to reach
- equilibrium with local earnings and mortgage costs. Under this theory
- median prices are still 20% to 30% higher than equilibrium in such
- distressed markets as Los Angeles and New York. The National Association
- of Realtors disagrees, saying many sellers will pull their homes off the
- market until pricing firms. [Wall Street Journal]
-
- 1018.The FHA raised it's loan ceiling by 20% in high-cost regions such as the
- Bay Area. A buyer could purchase a $159,700 home with 5% down. This will
- open the door for many people who couldn't have qualified for a home any
- other way. The San Jose Real Estate Board reports the median sale price
- of townhouses and condos was $162,000. [San Jose Mercury News]
-
- 1019.In Q1 1992, 43% of homeowners refinancing 30-year mortgages chose 15-year
- mortgages. It's a reflection of attitudes among consumers that they want
- to get out of debt. [Wall Street Journal]
-
- 1020.Silicon Valley Bank announced a Q3 loss of $9.4 million, reflecting a
- record $23.7 million provision for loan losses, mostly to cover bad loans
- to home builders. Outstanding loans to developers grew from $41 million
- in Q4 1987 to $869 million in Q4 1991. A lot of houses were rising in
- value at that time. Not many people in 1988 were saying that the
- residential real estate market would crash in 1992.[San Jose Mercury News]
-
- 1021.The Great California Home Rush. Kennedy-Wilson will auction 215
- residential properties. Minimum selling prices from $10,000 to $740,000.
- No unpublished reserve prices! These homes will be sold to the highest
- bidder at or above the published minimum selling price. San Francisco,
- San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Solano, Marin,
- Sonoma. [San Francisco Examiner[
-
- 1022.Prices reduced up to $43,900 on $311,900 homes at the Breakers at Marina
- Bay, a gated community of 3 and 4 bedroom single family detached homes on
- the bay. 5% down available. [San Francisco Examiner]
-
- 1023.The average U.S. worker now has to work 6.43 years to buy a median priced
- new home, nearly twice what it took 20 years ago. [Wall Street Journal]
-
- 1024.During a recent 3-month period, 18% of Los Angeles area homes sold for
- below purchase price compared with 3% 2 years earlier. Builders have cut
- prices up to 30%. Existing homes have dropped 10-15% and as much as 25%
- in affluent areas. Spreading job losses foretell a surge in foreclosures.
- Plunging land prices will soon further depress new-home prices. Realtor
- statistics showing an average 4% median price drop lag behind reality:
- Sharper declines are widespread. A UCLA economist predicts prices will
- plunge a further 20% after adjustment for inflation. [Wall Street Journal]
-