2008 Housing Market Forecast
Thursday October 11th, 2007 - 3:27:46 am
Dan Reddell Email
C.A.R.'s California Housing Market Forecast for 2008:Statewide median price down, pace of sales decline moderates after tumultuous 2007

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 10) – Home prices throughout most of California will post modest declines next year while sales of existing homes will stabilize from the precipitous decrease experienced in 2007, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) "2008 California Housing Market Forecast" released today. The forecast will be presented this afternoon during the CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2007 (www.realtorexpo.org), running from Oct. 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. The trade show attracts nearly 12,000 attendees and is the largest state real estate trade show in the nation.

The median home price in California will decline 4 percent to $553,000 in 2008 compared with a projected median of $576,000 this year, while sales for 2008 are projected to decrease 9 percent to 334,500 units, compared with 367,500 units (projected) in 2007.

“Tighter credit standards, affordability concerns, and a continued standoff between buyers and sellers will contribute to continued weakness in the market going into next year,” said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco. “Now is not the time for homeowners to ‘test the waters’ – only serious sellers should put their homes on the market in what will continue to be a challenging sales environment.”

“Sales could decline more steeply in 2008 if the current liquidity crunch in the mortgage markets has a longer-than-expected duration or if interest rates unexpectedly increase,” she said

“Geographically, more affordable regions such as the Central Valley and Inland Empire will experience greater softness in the resale market because of the large number of new homes coming onto the market in recent years,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “Higher priced regions of the state, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and parts of San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange counties will react more to affordability constraints.”

“By price-range, the highest-priced markets – those with medians over $1 million -- will show less stress,” she said. “The lower-priced markets will continue to face fallout from the subprime crisis, tighter underwriting standards, and competition from new home developments where price-cutting has been even more severe.”

C.A.R. economists also projected a 23 percent decline in sales this year to 367,500 units compared with 2006, and a 3.5 percent increase in the statewide median price to $576,000. However, the projected increase in the 2007 statewide median stands in contrast to the situation in most counties, regions, and communities of the state, where slight to modest year-to-year percentage declines have become more prevalent and will continue next year.

Historically, the last time the sales level fell below 2007’s projected 367,500 units occurred in 1995, when annual sales totaled 342,540 units. Sales last fell below 2008’s 334,500-unit forecast in 1985, with 328,270 units. The last time the statewide median price fell was a 0.5 percent decline in 1996. The most recent statewide median price decline greater than 4 percent was a 4.5 percent decline in 1993.

Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.



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