As Maria and I continue our Escrow Experience (we'll find out later today whether the house can be appraised at the price we're buying it at), a reminder of just how f--ed up the Southern California housing market has become: According to the L.A. Times, home prices in L.A. County have reached another record high.
Median price in the county has been pushed 29% from last year to a record $375,000 this March -- the biggest year-to-year increase in at least 15 years. The huge jump continues to confound almost everyone -- but as the paper notes, people are willing to pay almost anything right now to get in before the interest rates go up.
Of course, we'd love to land a $375,000 house. But you'd have to travel to Reseda, Santa Clarita or Bellflower to find that pricerange. Out here in Los Feliz, Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena, even the crappiest homes go for over $450,000.
Unlike ten years ago, though, experts claim the market isn't on the verge of collapse. Their reasoning: The spectacular gains in Southern California have fueled concerns of a possible housing "bubble." But most analysts believe the real estate market is on much firmer footing compared with a decade ago, when sales and prices tumbled.
Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo Bank, said the region's economy is stronger and there isn't the over-building of a decade ago. But for the long term, he said, if prices keep climbing as they have been, "it can basically stunt economic growth by discouraging people from moving in or expanding in Southern California."
No comments:
Post a Comment