Amazing Stories: the housing edition

Tidbits from today's Housing Bubble:

CALIFORNIA
-The LA Times reports from California. “Nearly 900 Californians a week are losing their homes because they can’t afford to pay the mortgage, up from about 100 a week a year ago, providing fresh evidence that the housing market’s troubles are nowhere near over. The 11,033 foreclosures in the first three months of the year represent an 800% increase over the same period a year earlier.”...800 percent!!!...

-Solano County(CA) has experienced five months of median home price declines...

-'There’s more of a tone of desperation from people we’re finding now. They have very few alternatives.’...

-San Joaquin, CA...“‘We’re seeing the tip of the foreclosures,’ said Jerry Abbott, president and co-owner of Coldwell Banker Grupe.”

“It will take up to two years for foreclosure properties to work through the market, where at the current sales pace, it would take 11 months for all homes currently on the market to sell if no other properties went up for sale, he said.”

IDAHO
-“The median price of an Ada County home has fallen for the first time since the slump in Treasure Valley residential home sales began nine months ago. The year-over-year drop was the latest sign that nine consecutive months of lagging home sales have forced some homeowners to slash their asking prices to attract buyers.”

“Hanging over the industry are 4,292 homes that were for sale in the Ada County last month, plus 2,322 listings in Canyon County. The total of 6,614 is 55 percent higher than the supply in March 2004, before the local housing bubble of 2005 and early 2006.”

“Housing sales remained sluggish last month, with 1,050 transactions in the two counties, 30 percent below the same month a year ago.”

CLARK COUNTY, WA

-“Clark County home sales in March remained substantially lower than levels of a year ago. Sales of new and pre-owned homes totaled 771 last month, the lowest for March since 2003, according to a report.”

“A local real estate boom that began in 2004 and continued into early 2006 could not have continued, said Sandy Hendrick, executive director of the Clark County Association of Realtors.”

“Excess inventories of new homes could affect the local housing market’s recovery, said Kathy Rylander, an associate broker in Vancouver.”