SANTA MONICA PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – JANUARY 2010
By Jodi Summers
Those in the know seem to feel that what the government is doing is working. Aided by the recent extension of the home buyer tax credit, the outlook for housing industry for 2010 appears headed for a sustainable recovery, proclaims Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist of the National Association of Realtors.
"Given the success of the first-time buyer tax credit to date and the need for qualified buyers to continue to absorb inventory that will include additional foreclosures over the coming year, we are hopeful about the impact of the expanded tax credit because it will stabilize home prices," he said. "In fact, the credit is working better than first projected - it now looks like we'll have 2.3 to 2.4 million first-time buyers this year."
Locally, in the Santa Monica single family market from December 2007-December 2009 there was an 18% drop in volume from 22 to 18 homes.
The median price of for sale properties is down 9% and the median price of sold properties is down 36%.
The condo market the median sold price is down 22%, while the number of sold properties is up 72%
In 2009 first-time buyers accounted for a record 47% share of home sales over the past year, up from 41% in 2008 concluded the most recent National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
Existing-home sales are expected to total 5.01 million for 2009, a gain of 2% over 2008, and this year sales are forecast to rise 13.6% to 5.69 million in 2010. "A steady draw down of inventory will help home values to turn positive in 2010, but risks such as unemployment remain in the economy," Yun concluded.
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http://saratogavoice.com/wordpress/2009/10/20/california-real-estate-forecast-for-2010/
http://www.realtor.org/research/economists_outlook/commentaries/forecast1209
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