Archive for December, 2009

Fort Wayne

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
City of Fort Wayne
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The second largest area in Indiana, Fort Wayne lies in the state’s northeastern corner. The state has been hard hit by the larger U.S. recession, shedding thousands of jobs and putting many homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Meanwhile, other homeowners have seen the values of their houses fall, leaving many upside-down on their mortgages. But recently things in the Fort Wayne real estate housing market, at least, have shown signs of improvement.

According to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, assessed property values had fallen in nine of the county’s 20 districts this year. Nine more districts saw values rise less than 2%.  But sales have been up in the city. During November, the city saw a massive 54% increase in sales volume, from 397 to 612. Much of the increased volume can be attributed to buyers looking to take advantage of a recently extended government program that offers tax rebates up to $8,000 to qualified home buyers.

And unlike in many cities nationwide, real estate in Fort Wayne actually saw a bump up in its housing prices, a real reason for optimism that the market is improving. In November, the median price of a home sold was $92,700, up 9% from $84,900 last year. Additionally, the average price was up to $101,073 from $94,880, a 6.5% increase. Despite all the good news in November, however, the average days homes for sale in Fort Wayne spent on the market before closing was up in November – to 115 from just 104 last year, a 10% increase.

Though November showed significant signs of improvement, according to the Fort Wayne Area Association of Realtor’s data, the total for 2009 remains relatively steady compared with data from 2008, despite a few months of increased activity and sales prices. The total number of homes sold to date in 2009 is actually down 1.8% from 2008 at the same time. Prices are up, but just by 0.3% for average and 1.4% for median. It remains to be seen whether December’s figures can be positive enough to help 2009′s total outdo 2008.

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Palm Springs Real Estate

Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Palm Springs below. One minute exposure.
Image by bossco via Flickr

The Palm Springs real estate market continues to face mixed signals, although it seems that governmental intervention has nudged home sales in the right direction. According to a November 5, 2009 article in the Desert Sun, “The inventory of existing homes for sale in the Coachella Valley is the lowest since December 2005 as home sales rose 1.2 percent in September over September 2008, the California Desert Association of Realtors reported today. The median price was $159,810 in September, down from $199,810 in September 2008. Prices dropped 20 percent in September over the same period a year ago. ‘The desert median price for a single family home is now below the national median for the first time in several years when including sales in the high desert areas,’ said Greg Berkemer, executive director of the California Association of Realtors. ‘Median sale prices on the valley floor itself rank among California’s most affordable homes.’”

Palm Springs homes for sale have been faring better than the rest of the Coachella Valley, which has been declining recently. According to a more recent article in the Palm Springs Desert Sun, published on November 26, 2009, “Coachella Valley home sales fell 3 percent in September, a new report from San Diego-based MDA DataQuick shows. Sales had been rising steadily since June 2008 – after sales fell 12 percent and the median sales price stood at $300,000 – mostly because of dropping prices. September ended that sales streak. The median price rose 2 percent in October throughout the six-county Southern California region. October data are not yet available for the valley.”

Government action seems to have improved the lot for real estate in Palm Springs, according to a third article in the Desert Sun, this one by Debra Gruszecki. The piece, released on November 6, 2009, noted that “Congress sweetened the deal for house-hunters on Thursday, extending the deadline beyone Nov. 30 for first-time homebuyers to  collect up to $8,000 and beefing up the tax credit pool to include a $6,500 credit for owners of existing homes who are buying a new home. That incentive is kicking in at an opportune time in the Coachella Valley, real estate professionals said Thursday.”

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