 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
For more information call us at our office Toll Free Number.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| BACK
|
|
Forecasts see prolonged housing woes (Posted Date :Tuesday, March 11, 2008) |
High Desert foreclosures to quadruple in 2008; home prices continue to drop
Prices of existing homes in the Victor Valley dropped 4 percent last month and almost seven out of 10 homes sold locally in February were bank owned, according to a report released Monday.
Since February 2007, Victor Valley home prices have tumbled 34.6 percent, according to figures compiled from the Victor Valley Multiple Listing Service by Larry Trombley of Century 21 Rose Realty in Hesperia.
According to the listings, last month was the worst February for the Victor Valley housing market in at least 11 years.
“We haven’t hit the tip,” said Carolyn McNamara, owner of The McNamar a Group real estate company. “I think we’re going to continue to decline, but I’m hoping it will slow down in the next three to four months.”
The number of homes sold in February rose 15 percent from the previous month. But only five percent of homes on the market sold in February, with the average sales price topping $215,000. The average price per square foot ranged from $96 in Adelanto to $167 in Spring Valley Lake.
Nationally, foreclosures are expected to quadruple in 2008, according to the investment banking firm Lehman Brothers. The high number of foreclosures is a trend expected to continue until late this year as more subprime borrowers fall behind on their payments.
Lower home prices threaten economic growth by making consumers feel less wealthy and thus less willing to spend.
The number of American homes entering foreclosure rose to the highest level on record in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Although the drop in home prices is expected to continue, McNamara said this is still not a bad time to buy. Potential home buyers should do their homework, but if they are planning to buy a home and be there long term, they are going to be fine, she said.
McNamara said she hopes that the market will begin to correct itself by the end of the year.
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation runs a toll-free hotline service to counsel borrowers who are having trouble paying mortgages. The hotline number is (888) 995-HOPE.
By RYAN ORR Staff Writer
By : Daily Press |
|
|
|