California Real Estate Declines Accelerate in Q3

The NAR Metropolitan home sales report came out today, and the numbers were not pretty. I always go down the list and look for the biggest gainers as well as decliners. As far as the decliners go this time around, California dominated the list.

Here is a sample of the largest declines in Q3 (these are the media sales prices for existing homes):

• -39.4%: Riverside/San Bernadino, CA
• -36.8%: Sacramento, CA
• -36.0%: San Diego, CA
• -35.1%: Los Angeles, CA
• -31.0%: Cape-Coral/Ft. Myers, FL
• -28.4%: Las Vegas, NV
• -27.6%: Anaheim, CA
• -27.6%: Phoenix, AZ

The gainers were a mixed bag of smaller cities:

• +12.5%: Elmira, NY
• +8.1%: Bloomington, IL
• +5.5%: Wichita, KS
• +5.1%: Tulsa, OK
• +4.2%: Trenton, NJ
• +4.1%: New Orleans, LA

And here are some other major cities fared:

• Boston: -10.0%
• Chicago: -12.4%
• Miami: -16.9%
• New York: -5.0%
• San Fran.: -25.3%
• Wash. DC: -24.0%

When we talk about the stabilization that is needed in the economy, and also for the consumer, these falling home values are at the heart of the matter. I hope the FDIC initiatives, as well as other home buying incentives, are enacted soon to stem the declines we are seeing.

When we start to see home prices stabilize, I think banks will feel better, and the markets will pick up on it and together will be a big first step at improving sentiment.