Wednesday, December 14, 2005

2005 Santa Clarita Housing Market in Review

2005 and Looking Forward

Once again, Santa Clarita experienced significant price increases during 2005. Top economists predict that we will continue to see home prices increase through 2006, although at a slower pace.

During October 2004, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) “2005 Housing Market Forecast” predicted a 15% increase in the median home price in California for 2005. The actual statewide median home price increase through November 2005 has been about 17.2% according to CAR.

The median price of an existing single-family home in Santa Clarita in November increased 17.84% percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to statistics compiled by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. The median price for November 2005 was $588,000.

“While California is still experiencing year-over-year double-digit price appreciation, prices are starting to level off compared with the statewide peak reached in August 2005,” said C.A.R. President Vince Malta. “Regionally, the median price continues to post strong gains, with the High Desert, Riverside/San Bernardino, and San Luis Obispo regions hitting record highs last month.”

Santa Clarita’s year-to-date single-family home sales in November were 2.35% percent below last year’s level, with 2005 sales (closed escrows) of 3,525 homes versus 2004 sales of 3,610.

More highlights of Santa Clarita resale housing figures for November 2005:
• Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in Santa Clarita in November 2005 was 5.42 months, compared with 3.65 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, and these numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
• Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 6.26 percent during November 2005, compared with 5.81 percent in November 2004, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 5.16 percent in November 2005 compared with 5.14 percent in November 2004.
• The average number of days it took to sell a single-family home in Santa Clarita was 43 days in November 2005, compared with 52 days for the same period a year ago.

David Lereah, the National Association of Realtors (NAR’s) chief economist, said the pace of price appreciation in the third quarter of 2005 is far from being normal over time. “These historically high home price gains are the simple result of more buyers than sellers in the market,” he said. “The good news is that inventory levels are improving, and [the nationwide] housing supply will come close to buyer demand in 2006. In other words, we expect a healthy and more balanced market next year.”

Since 1968, nationwide home prices generally have risen between 1 and 2 percentage points faster than the overall rate of inflation; the historic average price gain appears high relative to inflation because there was a period of rapid inflation in the U.S. during the 1970s and early 1980s.

NAR President Thomas M. Stevens explained what buyers and sellers generally can expect in the coming year. “This calmer [nationwide] real estate market will create a more level environment for buyers in weighing options to invest in the American dream of homeownership. Sellers will enjoy very healthy gains on the value of their home, but should expect annual increases to be much closer to historic levels going forward.”

Looking for Santa Clarita area homes? Click here to check out the latest listings!

Click here for our easy Automated Home Finder!

Linda Slocum
HoneyStartPacking.com

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

To have grown wise and kind is real success. Anonymous