Monday, November 16, 2015

The most expensive housing market is...

My website: www.sandralew.com

My old stomping grounds where I grew up in the bay area made the list as one of the most expensive housing markets in the country.  With increasing demand for housing especially up in silicon valley I predict it to further increase even more as demand continues to outpace supply.

The most expensive housing market is...

newport beach 

Newport Beach, Calif., is the most expensive housing market in the country.

A piece of the American Dream can cost anywhere from $75,000 to $2.3 million. It all depends on where you live.

Newport Beach, California, is the priciest place to live with the average list price for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at $2,291,764, according to a new report from Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

The average listing price for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home nationwide is $302,632, but buyers can snag one for under $135,000 in all 100 of the most affordable markets. At the other end of the spectrum, the 28 most expensive markets have an average listing price of at least $1 million, the report found.

In Cleveland, Ohio, which is the most affordable market, the average sale price is $74,502 -- 30 times less expensive than a home in Newport Beach.

When it comes to affordability, Middle America dominates with 45% of the most affordable markets located in the Midwest.

"Many of these markets were the very first to go into a housing correction," said Budge Huskey, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. "These areas have had a long way to recovery, they are still doing so."

Though half of the 100 most expensive housing markets in the U.S. are located in California, it's still not the most expensive state to buy a home. That honor goes to Hawaii, followed by Massachusetts, according Huskey.

While the booming tech industry caused home prices to explode in many areas in California, especially in and around Silicon Valley, Huskey pointed out many markets are still affordable in the state. "You can drive 30 to 45 minutes outside these areas and be in a very different price point."

Here are the most and least expensive housing markets in the U.S., according to Coldwell Banker:
Most Expensive: 

Newport Beach, Calif. ($2,291,764)
Palo Alto, Calif. ($2,066,600)
Saratoga, Calif. ($1,979,218)
Cupertino, Calif. ($1,659,297)
Los Gatos, Calif. ($1,569,615)
Arcadia, Calif. ($1,541,406)
San Mateo, Calif. ($1,463,455)
Sunnyvale, Calif. ($1,447,411)
Orono, Minn. ($1,384,270)
Redwood City, Calif. ($1,367,350)

Least Expensive:
Cleveland, Ohio ($74,502)
Riverdale, Ga. ($79,223)
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. ($79,480)
Detroit, Mich. ($81,616)
Alma, Mich. ($90,523)
Gloversville, N.Y. ($91,406)
Euclid, Ohio ($92,550)
Hastings, Fla. ($95,267)
Flint, Mich. ($95,482)
Lithonia, Ga. ($95,750)

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/10/real_estate/most-and-least-expensive-housing-markets/index.html?iid=Lead


 

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Luxury-Home Developers’ Latest Pitch: Unspoiled Nature

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New demand for living around areas surrounded by unspoiled nature. The conservation easement has exploded in popularity as it protects land from development. The deed to the land needs to be protected in perpetuity. These high end homes fuel the desire for homeowners to help with nature preservation along with gaining their own benefits of living in it as well. A price worth paying for many. It's a win win for all.

Luxury-Home Developers’ Latest Pitch: Unspoiled Nature

Forget golf: A growing number of high-end home communities are being built around large nature preserves 

The living room, with steel beams, in the McMahons’ living room. The couple was drawn to Spring Island in part for its 1,200 acre nature preserve.

Some developers are dedicating part of their land to nature preserves, hoping to draw in people with a passion for the environment and the outdoors. 




 

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

California housing will get even less affordable, UCLA forecast says

My website: www.sandralew.com

 While California housing keeps getting less affordable it is only going to get worse. Construction is unable to keep up with demand. Even with some units set aside for affordable housing demand is not able to keep pace. Total employment growth continuing to rise is good news with a drop in unemployment rates predicted but also directly affects a greater housing demand for the area. This drives up home prices.

California housing will get even less affordable, UCLA forecast says

Posted:

Housing in California — already considered unaffordable to many — will become even less affordable over the next two years, with construction unable to keep up with demand, according to a UCLA economic forecast released Monday.

UCLA Anderson Forecast Senior Economist Jerry Nickelsburg wrote in his forecast that government agencies need to reconsider their policies surrounding affordable housing if they hope to make a dent in the problem.

“The economics are clear,” he wrote. “When affordable housing is provided, say by requiring developers to have a fixed percentage of their new units ‘affordable,’ then the demand for that housing will be in excess of the supply.”

Nickelsburg added that “the policy itself recognizes that building constraints -- natural or regulatory -- will not permit a sufficient number of new homes to be built to satisfy the demand at affordable levels.

“This being the case, affordable housing policy needs to be explicit about who the housing is for,” he wrote. “For example, one might advocate affordable housing so that teachers in public schools can purchase housing that would otherwise be difficult for them to acquire.”

Nickelsburg said the typical response of “just build more housing” is unrealistic since such a move would require major changes in zoning codes, environmental requirements and building regulations.

“Certainly some of this is happening, particularly along mass transit corridors, but to make a significant impact the changes would have to be quite dramatic,” he wrote. “Realistically, this is not going to happen in the coming few years.”

On an economic front, Nickelsburg predicted total employment growth in California of 2.7 percent this year, 2.2 percent next year and 1.4 percent in 2017. The unemployment rate will drop below 6 percent for the balance of the year, then average 5.2 percent next year and 4.8 percent in 2017.

On the national front, UCLA Anderson director Edward Leamer predicted GDP growth of 2 to 3 percent over the next two years, with a generally healthy economy.

“This comes with an improving labor market, declining unemployment rate and a rising employment to population ratio,” Leamer wrote.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/social-affairs/20150928/california-housing-will-get-even-less-affordable-ucla-forecast-says