patrick.net

On a $60,000 home, the highest taxes would go for a heavily Melloed district is $1000 a year.
I was curious, so I looked up my neighbor's house as they have been around forever; they have a Prop 13 basis of around $55k. Their Ad Valorem taxes (at 1.2555%) come out to around $600. PRoB is one of the worst cities for special assessments. The Fixed Charges and Special Assessements component of proptery taxes (schools, parks, stormwater, libraries, mosquito, fire etc) tally up to be $1,350. The size of their home looks to be slightly less than 1400 sq.ft.

bob2356 says

Cash purchases will sink in the future

It will, with economy further going into pits.

I think, from now on, before every post you should list if you own a house or rent. I think a lot of stances on this thread are just people rooting for Team House or Team Rent to win, only because they're on that team.

chip_designer says

Apple planning to build UFO new campus

Yes, Apple's new UFO building will certainly raise housing prices in the Bay Area. Duh.

Of course in reality, Pandora is in Oakland, not Silicon Valley.

thanks cornrollio

Sorry to disappoint you all. But the next RE report that comes out will show that prices have went higher than 2009 prices again. In my area at least. I guess every so often there will be a good deal on a short sale/REO. But it doesn't seem to be stopping people from bidding it up again. Maybe because of the interest rates?

PIMCO says, "We anticipate an average decline from here of about 6% to 8% in prices across the country."

vain says

Sorry to disappoint you all. But the next RE report that comes out will show that prices have went higher than 2009 prices again

http://dqnews.com/Articles/2011/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay110615.aspx

“Given the sluggish start to this spring’s home-buying season, with sales 20 to 30 percent below average, it’s no surprise we’re logging sharper declines from 2010. Sales got a big shot in the arm a year ago, when people rushed to take advantage of expiring homebuyer tax credits. Today the market must stand on its own, and it’s having a hard time doing that in the absence of stronger job growth and consumer confidence. So far, low mortgage rates and lower home prices aren’t enough to overcome the concern some potential buyers have that prices could fall more. Other would-be buyers are unemployed or underemployed, or can’t qualify for a loan. Scores of would-be move-up buyers owe more than their homes are worth; so they’re stuck,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

Distressed home sales made up about 45 percent of the Bay Area’s resale market last month.

How Low ?

Dqnew.com August, 2000

The median price paid for a resale house in the Bay Area was $372,000 in July, another record. That was up 0.5 percent from $370,000 in June and up 20.0 percent from $310,000 for July last year.

uffthefluff says

PIMCO

Yeah, right? Back at the peak in 2006, they said - "Nationwide, flat, but 10-20% drop in some areas":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1lQZjJkkc

mdovell says

Foreign buyers are not enough to prop up the housing market. Don’t get me wrong they can make some gains but it won’t restore it to where it was.

The fact that foreign buyers are buying is an indication of a top, not the bottom. Foreigners always come in at or near the top of the cycle. The fundamental reason for this, is that it takes longer for news to travel and spread from the source to remote locations.

vain says

It went down for a little and down to mid-high $400k’s for a month or two. Now it’s back at $550k again and again.

Your problem is that you are having a ride with the asking price. Asking price means complete BS in this market. I have not heard of any market in USA where homes were selling at 400K in 2009 and comps are now selling 550K in 2011.

klarek says

LOL a few months ago, weren’t you using foreign cities as a benchmark, to make a case that housing is cheap in the U.S.?

Yep--and obviously you didn't get his point.

Looking at the graphs above, tell me why housing prices wont revert back to the mean? After all, if they can go up by X percent, they can go back down by the same percent, yes?

People are not making that much more than in 2000 (if any). The population, if you include retirees, is not increasing. Interests rates can't really go lower. And, I feel that rent is increasing only because people don't want to buy- and that is creating rental demand- it's a dislocation, not a correlation. Now, in my area of NJ prices are no where near even their 2000 levels.

Tell me why prices won't DEPRECIATE (not crash) back to the mean, over a number of years?

odin says

Tell me why prices won’t DEPRECIATE (not crash) back to the mean, over a number of years?

1970s style inflation.

Don't see it happening, but I can't say it won't.

The minimum wage in Calif doubled between 1968 and 1981. It could double in the next 12 years.

That's the general trend; the system desperately needs wage inflation. Maybe we'll actually get it.