The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) has made a few predictions about the housing market in 2009, notably that the median home price in California will decline 6 percent to $358,000 next year. Additionally, all those foreclosures and price drops will help propel sales--and sales will increase 12.5 percent in 2009. Additionally, C.A.R. President William E. Brown believes that the country's wrecked economy will actually begin to straighten itself out by late 2008 and into early 2009. That last bit of information is far more upbeat than some of the more sobering predictions that are floating out there. Meanwhile, important to know: C.A.R's predictions for 2008 were completely off. Via the Mercury News: "Making accurate predictions about home prices is challenging in a state with such diverse housing markets, [C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie] Appleton-Young said. She acknowledges that her calculations for 2008 turned out to be wrong by a longshot. The forecast released in October 2007 called for transactions to fall 9 percent this year compared to 2007; instead they will rise an estimated 12 percent by the end of the year. As for the median price, it was forecast to drop just 4 percent. Now, Appleton-Young estimates the state's median house price for 2008 will be 31.7 percent lower than in 2007."
· Prices, sales of Bay Area high-end homes may fall next year, Realtor group predicts [MN]
· C.A.R.'s California Housing Market Forecast for 2009 [CAR]
· CA Realtors: Conflicting Reports on the Homefront [Curbed SF]
Filed under:
Loading comments...