Monday, June 25, 2007

Bakersfield homes prices down 8.8% YOY

Final May 2007 Numbers are out. So much for all those clowns who said prices would never go down.

If you take out the incentives (which are not included in these numbers) the drop is even bigger. Added to this is the fact that inventory continues to grow, sales continue to drop and credit is tightening.


City________2007________2006____%____

Bakersfield $275,000.00 $301,500.00 -8.8%


Clovis $359,000.00 $431,500.00 -16.8%


Fresno $271,000.00 $285,000.00 -4.9%

7 comments:

Adam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Adam said...

Well, it appears the correction is in full-swing. Following the sub-prime debacle (and relative credit tightening), we expected to see a rising in the median (from fewer sales of entry-level homes, with only the move-up buyers able to sell); however, we're seeing a drop now, so there's little doubt the bubble is deflating, as expected.

Just curious, though: it seems like in the past, the CAR reported not just median PRICES, but also the NUMBER of transactions completed in the month.

However, this information is conspicious by it's absence in the current report! What's up with THAT?

BB, do you know what happened here? Is the CAR trying to hide the ugly truth from the public, that sales volume has dropped off a cliff?

As an aside, I noticed that the CAR's affordability index is based on some standard criteria such as assuming 20% down, etc. However, I see they also assume the buyer is approved for a one-year ARM (how convenient, eh? Qualifying a buyer, based on an artifically low monthly payment!) I'm not sure how long the CAR's been doing that? Is that a change, too?

Adam said...

Oh, forgot to add my usual suggestion to add minus (-) signs to the numbers you posted, just to reinforce that the numbers are dropping, not rising. After at least 8 years of seeing home value rise, it's good to remind people that real estate markets can and do reverse, sometimes quite rapidly and profoundly.

Bakersfield Bubble said...

Adam-

Good catch on the sales data, Yes it is normally included. Must be an accident?!?!


The CAR changed that (I think) last year. The bloggers at the HBB noted it back then and how much of a joke it was.

Perfect Storm said...

The big pain of the housing crash is coming big time to Bakersfield. Remember people it is your local subprime mortgage brokers fault make sure you when you see one to tell them they are just plain scum.

Peahippo said...

P-storm, let's also not forget the contributions of the Realtwhores™ ... like Jason Thoele, who can spin losses into gains like magical spiders can spin moonbeams into gold. The difference here is that there are no magical spiders in reality, and in the same reality the equity losses are real for the F*cked Buyers™.

The next time the housing market explodes with unsustainable speculation (say, the year 2018), I'm sure our warnings against the filthy Realtwhores™ will go as unheeded as before. Buyers and sellers are as guilty as the Realtwhores™, the Lender Louses™, the Appraisal A**holes™, the Investards™, the Buildtards™, and the Irregulators™.

rrastronomo said...

We sold our home a yr and a half ago by a close personal friend. I remember her saying something along the lines of "I don't know how you guys can keep pace with appreciation if you're going to rent." We respectfully ignored the comment and sold and rented. This person, I know for a fact had the best intensions--highly successful--did not need the commission of the sale from us. In fact, she did not want to take any money for the transaction. I had to twist her arm into taking the negotiated 4% commission. You have to know that realtors are just salesmen and aren't economists or financial analysts able to determine what drives any market. It is a shame most people do not understand relationships--it is as if a sick patient went to a pharmacudical company to get advice rather that an unbias doctor. But in this world even some doctors are bought. In stating the obvious, it's a lonely world out there without education and street smarts.