Top Cities for Healthy Real Estate Markets

FACEBOOK Going Public Can Boost Housing Market

Facebook IPO Could Create at Least $1 Billion in Property Value David J Cross San Francisco Real Estate

"The Bay Area real estate market might be in a mini housing bubble that's being fueled by Facebook's IPO. This week the social media giant is expected to open its doors to the general public. Overnight, Facebook will become a publicly traded company and a plethora of 20-somethings will see their personal wealth skyrocket. In April, Facebook estimated its value at $77 billion, but since then the Palo Alto-based company's worth has been assumed to be somewhere in the $100 billion range. This influx of cash will have a number of impacts, one of which could be the increase in property value. Using a conservative analysis, Movoto -- a real estate brokerage in the San Mateo -- estimated that Facebook's coming out party could increase property value in trendy Bay Area neighborhoods and cities by $1 to 2 billion. "Competition to buy listed homes in desirable Bay Area zip codes is already discouraging for the average home buyer." said Mark Brandemuehl, VP Marketing & Business Development at Movoto. "The Facebook IPO will only add to the millionaires competing to buy a small number of homes, and it seems inevitable that prices will be driven up." To make this analysis Movoto spoke with Carole Rodoni, president of Bamboo Consulting, a Bay Area real estate agent. Rodoni expected overall property value to rise. She estimated that property value in fashionable areas will increase anywhere from five to 10 percent. This is on top of the area's typical appreciation. She expected this mini housing bubble to last between a year and 18 months." See the FULL ARTICLE HERE

Home remodeling reaches highs in October

Home remodeling activity reaches record high in October
The BuildFax residential remodeling index reached a record high in October, extending its 23-month climb another month, as homeowners opt to stay put and remodel rather than buy a new home.
The index, which began in 2004, rose to 147.6, up 40 percent from 105.8 in October 2010. The index stood at 141.4 in September, which was also a high.
Joe Emison, vice president of research and development at BuildFax, said while the number of remodeling projects is rising, the average estimated construction cost of each project is falling.
"We see that as an indication that people are doing more comfort remodels, meaning they're modeling to make their homes more comfortable as opposed to flipping it," he said.
The company found the average project cost of a major remodeling project for 2011 was $39,460, down from an index high of $43,808 in 2004. The average project cost of a minor remodeling project in 2011 was $10,968, down from an index high of $12,623 in 2006.

FAST FACTS!

Your monthly fast facts


Fast Facts
Calif. median home price: November 2011: $280,960 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county November 2011: Marin: $736,410 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county November 2011: Madera: $103,330 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: October 2011: 122., an increase of 3.1 percent compared with a prior year.

Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates: Week ending 12/15/2011 30-yr. fixed: 3.94% fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.27 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.81% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Market Trends October 2011

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Here is the NEW MARKET TRENDS NEWSLETTER PERSONALIZED FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

The Re/Max Collection

Fine Homes and Luxury Properties

Is It Time To Buy A Home?

Why It's Time To Buy
The Clouds Haven't Quite Parted, But the Long-Term Case for Home Ownership Is Looking Stronger

" Despite all the gloom, however, there are growing indications that it is a good time to buy. Mortgage rates, which fell to 4.55% for the week ending June 2, according to Freddie Mac, are near 50-year lows. Homes have become more affordable than they have been in years: According to Moody's Analytics, the ratio of home prices to income is now 20.9% lower than the 15-year average through 2010, and 12.5% lower than the 1989-2004 average. A historic glut of homes, meanwhile, has created a buyer's market: There were about 15 million vacant homes in the U.S. last year, according to John Burns Real Estate ConsultingInc.—some 3.1 million more than normal."


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