Blogs | Scam Diego
San Diego Home Prices Inch Up
By Don Bauder | Posted August 25, 2009, 8:32 a.m.
San Diego home prices rose 1.6% from May to June, according to Case-Shiller home price indices published this morning (Aug. 25) by Standard & Poor's. The May/June increase was four times the 0.4% rise of April/May. Local prices, however, are still down 16% from a year ago and down 41.6% from their peak of November, 2005. Many U.S. metro areas continue to do very poorly: Las Vegas prices are down 32.4% from a year earlier, Phoenix down 31.6%, and Detroit down 25%. The overall index embracing 20 metro areas dropped 15.4% in the second quarter from the previous year, an improvement over the 19.1% decline of the first quarter. S&P economist David Blitzer sees "positive signs" for the second straight month. However, investors must ask themselves how much of this slowing in the rate of decline is the result of massive liquidity (partly in the form of artificially low interest rates), along with subsidies for certain buyers.
The economy is still losing jobs.
Jobs are the juice that makes the housing market go round.
As long as job losses continue there will continue to be foreclosures and market meltdown.
This increase is a fluke. The median and mean price for homes will continue to decline, for at least another year IMO.
In mid 2010 we may hit bottom and start pulling out. But to increase the price of homes, we need job creation-not just a stop to job losses. And the job creation needs to be in jobs outside of the service/tourism sector.
By SurfPuppy619 11:51 a.m., Aug 25, 2009 > Report it
Response to post #1: I think job losses will definitely continue until at least mid-2010. Much depends on whether the government continues to subsidize homebuyers (it probably will), whether the Fed keeps interest rates artificially low (it will) and whether governments continue to have lids on foreclosures (they will). Homes bought through these cheap money/subsidy programs are just borrowed from future sales. So the drought may go on longer than is now realized. It will be interesting to see how auto sales go now that "cash for clunkers" is no longer operative. Maybe the federal government will reinstate that program even though it doesn't have the money for the current one. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 1:56 p.m., Aug 25, 2009 > Report it