WHAT IS THE CALIFORNIAN AFRAID OF?

I continue to wait for the Bakersfield Californian to be a leader in dicussing the local angle on this housing bubble bust. However, I continue to be disappointed. Meanwhile, other Central Valley cities have reporters who put journalism before Advertising Dollars:




The shakeout continues for Sacramento home builders. From the Sacramento Bee:
Ax falls at home buildersFirms shed executives, field staff in wake of slowdown.After months of sales cancellations, production slowdowns and costly incentives to win customers, Sacramento-area home builders have turned to staff reductions and consolidations to help improve bottom lines, analysts and some executives say.Several public and private home builders have shed executive and field staff in recent weeks, industry officials acknowledge. At least one builder has consolidated offices and another, Colorado-based Richmond American Homes, reportedly shifted its local operations base to Pleasanton after laying off approximately 25 to 30 staffers...Schleimer, owner of Market Perspectives, said Richmond American made a sizable reduction in its regional work force in recent weeks. One of those laid off said the publicly traded Denver builder cut 20 to 25 management positions. The reduction followed five earlier position cuts, said the former staffer, who requested anonymity because final paychecks have yet to be received...




Fresno's "Go-Go Days Are Gone-Gone"
The Fresno Bee reports on the rapidly changing Fresno housing market.
During the go-go days, home sellers put their houses up for sale and sat back as would-be buyers jacked the price up with every bid. Those go-go days are gone-gone. With home sales in Fresno County off from last year by a third, sellers and real estate agents are more willing to negotiate...Some people have been surprised at how quickly the real estate market softened because, unlike previous declines, this downturn is not accompanied by higher unemployment or a fundamental change in the economy.




The Porterville Recorder. “As Tulare County enjoys a bustling economy and housing market, officials at the County Administrative Office said Thursday they are keeping their spending in check.”
“Assistant County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau said they have learned from the state’s mistakes. ‘We have more money that we have had in the past,’ said Rousseau, who compared the counties upswing in assessed property value to the dot-com boom in the early 1990s. ‘We don’t want to put that growth into program spending.’”
“Just like when the bubble burst on the technology industry, the county is preparing for an eventual downturn in the housing market. Rousseau said that means basing their budgets on historically normal revenues as opposed to the inflated numbers in recent years.”
“‘We want long-term fiscal stability,’ Rousseau said. ‘What’s the point in spending when you will have to come back the next year and cut it?’”




Thanks to Lander and Ben Jones for these great valley stories. I guess I will have to carry the torch for the southern SJV until the newspaper gets some BALLS!