Real Estate News Archive April 2006
Here is the real estate news making headlines across the state and country in April 2006.April 28, 2006
Gas Prices Around the World
As we continue to feel the impact of high oil prices ($72.10 a barrel today, average in CA is $3.14/gallon), check out what other countries around the world are paying for gas:
| Nation | City | Price in USD Regular/Gallon |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | $6.48 |
| Norway | Oslo | $6.27 |
| Italy | Milan | $5.96 |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | $5.93 |
| Belgium | Brussels | $5.91 |
| Sweden | Stockholm | $5.80 |
| United Kingdom | London | $5.79 |
| Germany | Frankfurt | $5.57 |
| France | Paris | $5.54 |
| Portugal | Lisbon | $5.35 |
| Hungary | Budapest | $4.94 |
| Luxembourg | $4.82 |
|
| Croatia | Zagreb | $4.81 |
| Ireland | Dublin | $4.78 |
| Switzerland | Geneva | $4.74 |
| Spain | Madrid | $4.55 |
| Japan | Tokyo | $4.24 |
| Czech Republic | Prague | $4.19 |
| Romania | Bucharest | $4.09 |
| Andorra | $4.08 |
|
| Estonia | Tallinn | $3.62 |
| Bulgaria | Sofia | $3.52 |
| Brazil | Brasilia | $3.12 |
| Cuba | Havana | $3.03 |
| Taiwan | Taipei | $2.84 |
| Lebanon | Beirut | $2.63 |
| South Africa | Johannesburg | $2.62 |
| Nicaragua | Managua | $2.61 |
| Panama | Panama City | $2.19 |
| Russia | Moscow | $2.10 |
| Puerto Rico | San Juan | $1.74 |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | $0.91 |
| Kuwait | Kuwait City | $0.78 |
| Egypt | Cairo | $0.65 |
| Nigeria | Lagos | $0.38 |
| Venezuela | Caracas | $0.12 |
Source: CNN.com
April 27, 2006
March Home Sales
As the numbers come in, it is clear that some states are definitely seeing a change of pace in its real estate sales while others are still enjoying the real estate boom.
Florida:
Sales of existing homes in Florida dropped 24% in March 2006 compared to March 2005. Median home price was $248,200, which was 17% higher than in March 2005.
In the Tampa Bay area, sales fell 26%. Median home price was $222,800, up 24% from last yea. Sales was actually up 21% in Miami.
Illinois:
Sales increased 4.9% in March 2006 to 14,907 compared to 14,207 a year ago. Median increased in March 2006 to $199K from $190K in March of last year.
Massachusetts:
Single-family home sales and prices in Massachusetts fell 1.5% in March 2006. Home sales dropped from 4482 in March 2005 to 4416 in March 2006.
Median Home price decreased from $330K in March 2005 to $325K in March 2006.
April 26, 2006
New Home Sales Soared in March 2006
Sales of new single-family homes increased 13.8% in March 2006 to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 1.213 million units. The increase represented a recovery from a 10.9% decrease in sales in February 2006.
But the median price of homes sold in March 2006 dropped to $224,200, down 2.2% from March 2005 and a 6.5% decline from February 2006..
This was the first time home prices dropped over a 12-month period since December 2003.
Source: Associated Press
April 25, 2006
Home Sales Increased in March Nationally
Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 0.3% to 6.92 million units in March 2006 from 6.90 million in February 2006.
This was 0.7% below a 6.97 million-unit level in March 2005.
National median existing-home price for all housing types was $218,000 in March 2006, up 7.4% from March 2005 when the median home price was $203,000.
The median existing single-family home price was $217,300 in March, up 7.8% from a year ago.
Total housing inventory levels rose 7% at the end of March 2006 to 3.19 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.5-month supply at the current sales pace.
In the Northeast:
- existing-home sales rose 1.7% to an annual sales rate of 1.19 million units in March which was 2.6% higher than a year ago.
- Median price was $275,000, up 5.0% from March 2005.
In the Midwest:
- Existing-home sales increased 1.2% to a pace of 1.63 million in March,which was 3.8% above March 2005.
- The median existing-home price was $160,000, up 2.6% from a year earlier.
In the South:
- existing-home sales decreased 0.7% in March to a level of 2.67 million, which was 1.5% higher than a year ago.
- The median pricewas $181,000, up 6.5% from March 2005.
In the West:
- Existing-home sales decreased 0.7% to an annual pace of 1.43 million in March, which 12.3% below March 2005.
- The median pricewas $341,000, up 8.3% from a year ago.
Source: National Association of Realtors
April 25, 2006
California Median Home Prices
California Association of Realtors released the numbers for March 2006 today. Please see our Median Home Prices section and March 2006 Median Home Prices data for more info.
Summary of the news release:
- Median home price in CA increased 13% to $561,350 in March 2006 when compared to a year ago.
- The March 2006 median price increased 4.8% compared with February's $535,480 median price.
- Sales declined 15% when compared to a year ago
- Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in March 2006 was 4.8 months, compared with 2.2 months a year ago.
- The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 44 days in March 2006, compared with 30 days a year ago.
- Median price in Central Valley increased just 8.1%to $350,930 while sales dropped 24% compared to March 2005.
April 24, 2006
Increase in Nationwide Foreclosures
RealtyTrac, a company which tracks foreclosure properties, released its 2006 Q1 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report today.
The report indicated that a total of 323,102 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in the 1st quarter of 2006.
This was a 38% increase from the previous quarter and a 72% year-over-year increase from the first quarter of 2005.
The nation's quarterly foreclosure rate of 1 new foreclosure for every 358 U.S. households was higher than in any quarter of last year.
The states with the highest quarterly foreclosure rate were Georgia (1 per every 127 households), Colorado (1 per every 138 households) and Indiana.
Other states in the top 10 were Nevada, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Florida.
Source: PR Newswire
April 21, 2006
Signs of Cooling Housing Market in the Sacramento area
While sales jumped in March from February, the 2,489 homes sold across El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties were still the lowest for a March since 1999.
The number of homes for sale in the four-county region continued grew in March to 10,316 compared with 3,799 at the same time in 2005.
Median home price in Sacramento county in March 2006 was $359K, below its August 2005 peak of $372K.
Median home price in Yolo county in March 2006 was $410K, below its November peak of $436,500.
In El Dorado county, median home price in March 2006 was $451K, off its peak of $475K in September 2005.
In Placer County, median home price in March 2006 was $477K, off its peak of $502K in August 2005.
Source: Sacramento Bee