SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business — U.S. housing seen showing more life in second half
In California, where home sales tumbled 23 percent in 2006 and could drop another 7 percent this year, “the worst is over,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.

Median home prices in the state could slide 2 percent this year, with inland inventories of unsold homes lingering on the market, she said.

“All that being said, I never subscribed to the bubble argument anyway so I’m feeling pretty confident about 2007,” Appleton-Young added.

“Remember we’re going from a market where you couldn’t afford not to buy. Rates were so low, and prices were appreciating 15 to 20 percent, you just had to do that deal,” she said.

I’m confused. The worst is over, so now is a good time to buy.

But wait, they never said when it was not a good time to buy!

But wait again, before you couldn’t afford not to buy. Does that mean now I can afford not to buy?

How confusing.

Regardless, I’m just glad to hear that the worst is over.

Let’s all work together! I want to see 1br/1ba condos in Mountain View for $500k this year! Together, we can do it!

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 671702
319 ROOSEVELT AV
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
$925,000

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 671702 Approx Age: Unavailable Approx Sq Ft: 1300
Detached Single Family 2 Stories Traditional
3 Bedrooms 2&1/2 Bathrooms 2 or More Stall Showers
1 Tub Separate Family Room Separate Dining Room

So let’s say you buy this house – what do you do next?

Of course, you tell your friends living outside of the Bay Area: “It’s special here! What a great deal!”

San Francisco Bay Area Houses & Homes – 1691 S KING RD, San Jose Alum Rock 95122
1691 S KING RD, San Jose 95122

Bedroom: 3 Bathroom: 2 Square Footage: 1121 $599,900
Status:
Active
Year Built: 1958 List Date: 10/28/2006 Lot Size: N/A
Parking Spaces: 2 MLS#: 666423
Email this to a friend Ask a Question Neighborhood Data Comparable Data
DESCRIPTION -
1691 S KING RD, San Jose
Just reduced!! New roof, nice floorplan recently remodeled, with marble floor in bathrooms. New double-paned windows. Covered patio with built-in barbeque grill. Very motivated Seller. Open house Sat 11/4 and Sun11/5 12-4pm

Burbed reader Brendan writes:

Now if you didn’t know that’s a stone’s throw away from the famed king and story intersection where most of San Jose’s crime happens.

Uh, Brendan – I believe the correct phrasing is: “FANTASTIC STARTER HOME IN A LIVELY AND ACTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD. GREAT FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS. NOT IN EAST PALO ALTO”

MLS-2.com: Complete Local MLS Search, Market Data, Maps and Local Real Estate Information
MLS-2 Bargain Hunter Page – Short Sales, Motivated Sellers, Price Reductions For Local Real Estate

This is actually a pretty neat site. Check out the page I linked to – with that you can easily find out which properties have dropped their prices by 10% or more, which ones are by “Motivated Sellers” and which ones are “Short Sales”.

Wow! I didn’t see this coming – Burbed was nominated for best regional blog!

If you like what you read here, please vote for Burbed.

The prize is $25, so this isn’t exactly about the money – rather, let’s help make Burbed even more well known… so that more people will find out about what makes Silicon Valley so very special!

Please visit http://www.housingwire.com/2007-rebas/ and click on the giant grey “Vote now” link at the top of the page. Burbed.com is in section 5.

Voting ends on 1/10 – so please don’t delay. OR THIS HOUSE IS GOING OFF THE MARKET.

Is this in Dixon’s Landing?

Nope..

1166 E Livingston Avenue, Columbus, OH 43205 – Prudential Calhoon Company REALTORS®
1166 E Livingston Avenue, Columbus, OH 43205 go to map

Price: $29,900
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 1 Garage: 0
Square Ft: 1,276 Lot Size: n/a
Price Per sq/ft for this property: $23
Average Price Per sq/ft for this area: $102
Median Home Price for Columbus, OH: $119,900
Year Built: 1915 School District: Columbus
MLS Number: 2642802 Active Date: Aug 23, 2006
Property Type: Residential Area Location: 14 – Cols/Fra Co W 10, E Be

Burbed.com reader Sebastian writes:

I loved the old post comparing houses around the country to houses here…

So I was thinking here’s one to start with. From Columbus, OH I bring you this beautiful starter home. Being a three bedroom home with a whopping 950 Square Feet it is surely worth $900,000! Ok, ok how about $800,000? No? Well, let’s just be really crazy and say it is worth $500,000… surely that is very realistic in this “buyer’s market”.

Oh Sebastian… don’t you know that Ohio isn’t special? There aren’t smart people or burritos there. And they don’t have good weather. That’s why this is 3% of a Bay Area house.

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 670817
1087 BROADWAY AV
San Jose, CA 95125
$799,000

Build your dream home on a big lot in Willow Glen
Desirable location of Willow Glen, Walk to town, preliminary plans for 3500 sq.ft. 4 Bedrooms and 3.5 Bathrooms are available.

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 670817 Approx Age: 86 Years Approx Sq Ft: 646

So let’s see… a 3,500 sqft house. At $250 per square foot, that’ll cost you another $875,000 – bringing this to a total of $1,674,000.

Better start dreaming if you want that dream house!

(Thanks to Burbed reader Brendan.)

San Franciscans Hurl Their Rage at Parking Patrol – New York Times
It is the price of parking in San Francisco.

Burdened with one of the densest downtowns in the country and a Californian love for moving vehicles, San Franciscans have been shocked in recent months by crimes related to finding places to park, including an attack in September in which a young man was killed trying to defend a spot he had found.

More recently, the victims have been parking control officers — do not call them meter maids — who suffered four attacks in late November, and two officers went to a hospital.

Over all, 2006 was a dangerous year for those hardy souls handing out tickets here, with 28 attacks, up from 17 in 2005.

All of which has left officials in this otherwise civilized community scrambling to explain, and solve, “parking rage.”

Parking truly is a San Francisco treat.

Home Sweet Home Jr. – WSJ.com
When Krystal and Hal Barkate decided to buy a second home last year, they wanted something just like their yellow Colonial. So the couple hired a builder to create an exact replica — right down to the cream trim, covered front porch and pitched roof with gabled dormers. The big difference: The house, which also has a fireplace and an open-plan kitchen, is a 10-foot-tall playhouse for their two kids, ages 5 and 3, and sits in their backyard in Ladera Ranch, Calif.
[Tudor-style playhouse]
A Tudor-style playhouse in Denver

The Barkates paid $15,000 for the pint-size Colonial, and that doesn’t include what they spent on the little garage and roof deck they added this summer. “People think it’s crazy,” Ms. Barkate acknowledges.

House-proud Americans have a new way to show off their trophy homes. Taking the pricey playhouse concept to the next level, some homeowners are building Mini-Me McMansions for their kids. The lavish replicas, which can include such grown-up amenities as hardwood floors and media rooms with satellite TVs, generally cost from $10,000 to $100,000. Some run even higher than that, exceeding the median price of a single-family home ($218,000 in November). In some areas the playhouses are running afoul of local zoning ordinances, building codes and housing-development covenants, annoying neighbors who object to the backyard estates and racking up substantial fines.

 

You just know that these houses would sell for $350,000 each in the Bay Area – perfect for first time buyers!

Sierra Sun – News
Dave Giacomini, broker and owner of Sierra Mountain Mortgage, said they now have their first foreclosure in four years, but he expects to see an increasing trend.

He said adjustable rate mortgages have allowed people to pay less than the interest the loan is gathering, and said the rates are adjusting higher.

When a property stops appreciating in value, the buyer no longer has the ability to pay the loan, Giacomini said.

And that, my friends, is New Economy 3.0.