Santa Clara County Real Estate is up 2.5% over last month.- May 16, 2005 The median price of single-family houses sold in the nine Bay Area counties rose to a record $622,000 in April, up nearly 20 percent from a year earlier. The Santa Clara County figure for last month was also a new peak, at $681,500. That's up almost 19 percent from the median price in April 2004, and 2.5 percent higher than the March 2005 number. Sales volume, on the other hand, fell compared to last year in all Bay Area counties except San Mateo and Napa. A total of 7,592 houses changed hands..http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/16/864424.html If the Naval Base in Ventura County closes could this become a prime real estate opportunity- May 12, 2005 California Real Estate News On Friday, May 13th, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to announce the bases that will be closing. Among the list of potential closings is the Naval Base in Ventura County - the Navy's only deep-water port between San Diego and Washington state. The down side would be the thousands of lost jobs as the Naval Base is Ventura's largest employer. On a positive note, many real estate professionals are seeing this as a potential opening of new land..http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/12/839434.html Best Places To Be Rich include San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara & San Diego- May 11, 2005 California Real Estate News Forbes.com has a list of the top 10 best places to be rich in the United States. Among the list were the popular California cities; San Francisco(3), Santa Barbara(4), San Jose(7) & San Diego(9). San Francisco was rich in beauty, luxury goods, dining, pricey homes, charity & culture. Those who occupy the lofty elevations of Russian Hill, Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights would surely agree that San Francisco should be high on the desirability list...http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/10/676618.html Religion's restrictions on paying interest create dilemma for Muslim home buyers- May 11, 2005 California Real Estate News The Muslim religion prohibits earning or paying interest on borrowed money. So what do Muslim's do when they want to take out a mortgage and purchase their own home The answer Most don't. Their religion prohibits it. The San Diego Union-Tribune has a story of a Muslim in this exact situation. When he bought his car two years ago, Javed Ahmed saved up enough money so he could pay for it with cash. And every month, the senior analyst at Voyager...http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/10/676459.html Rush Limbaugh Analyzes The California Real Estate Market & Skyrocketing Home Prices- May 8, 2005 California Real Estate News Rush Limbaugh talks to his listeners about why California housing prices are skyrocketing and mentions a few of his opinions as to exactly why this is happening. If you wish to re-listen to this broadcast, you can do so here. There is also a transcript online covering this segment. Here is an excerpt: Now, what do you thinkhttp://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/8/662848.html Homebuyer Income Gap Index - California's median income vs. median-priced homes- May 5, 2005 Real Estate News The California Association of Realtors releases a quarterly analysis of the difference between the median household income in California and the qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced, single-family home for the state and for select regions within the state. This is called the Homebuyer Income Gap Index (HIGI). Last year, in the first quarter of 2004, California households with a median household income of $52,320 fell $41,360 short of the $93,680 qualifying..http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/5/652148.html Follow up on El Dorado County Asbestos Issues- May 3, 2005 California Real Estate News The Sacramento Bee has a follow up to the El Dorado asbesto issue that is being widely discussed recently. On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that people, and especially kids, can greatly increase their exposure to this asbestos by playing at a popular park in El Dorado Hills. Two weeks earlier, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry recommended doctors be notified by people who were likely to have been exposed, such as...http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/3/645744.html Could we see a potential blow to the El Dorado County real estate market- May 3, 2005 California Real Estate News Inside Bay Area reports about a potential asbestos problem for El Dorado County Residents: Children playing baseball, biking or playing in a jungle gym in El Dorado Hills are breathing high levels of asbestos fibers, amounting to a cancer risk of at least one in 100 for a lifetime of continuous exposure. EPA today released preliminary results for the first-ever tests on air around active people in the Sierra foothills, and the results show exposures almost...http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/2/644404.html Rising gas prices. Rising inflation. Rising interest rates. Slowing economy. Where does that leave the California Real Estate Market- May 2, 2005 California Real Estate News Rising gas prices. Rising inflation. Rising interest rates. Slowing economy. That was the theme from the San Jose Mercury News in their article, Rising prices, cooling economy. In this article they discuss the very real possibility that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again in an effort to slow down the economy and keep inflation in check. By historic measures, the overall unadjusted inflation rate of 3.1 percent remains low. Consider that..http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/2/641627.html Median Home Price in Atherton, California Reaches $2.5 Million.- May 2, 2005 California Real Estate News Forbes.com said the median home price in Atherton, Calif., is now $2.5 million, making it the most expensive zip code in the country according to a recent study. Atherton's median home price is about 13 times the national average of $185,000 dollars for a single family home. The community is home to many Silicon Valley tycoons including Steve Jobs (Apple Computer co-founder) & Larry Ellison (ranked No. 5 on the Forbes world's richest people list)..http://www.hotcaliforniarealestate.com/blog/_archives/2005/5/1/641114.html |