Alhambra Real Estate
Alhambra Homes For Sale - Investing in Real Estates of Alhambra, CA

Signs of Real Estate Stabilizing in Alhambra
By Lee Lieberg

June 16, 2008

During the first week of June, I had the pleasure of traveling to Sacramento to the annual Legislative Conference of CAR (California Association of REALTORS®) as one of the representatives of West San Gabriel Valley Association of REALTORS®. Against the backdrop of a difficult year for those in real estate was a sober conference in which many were seeking to right the ship.

Following are some of the highlights from the California Economic & Housing Market Outlook presented by Joel Singer, the Executive Vice President of CAR and some of my numbers on Alhambra mixed in.

Singer spoke of how “the basis of this downturn is not economically driven”. It was the Sub-prime crisis that started the downturn. Now we have “the tail wagging the dog” as it has had broad affects on the economy. In this cycle, people didn’t lose their homes because they lost their jobs, but now many have lost their jobs due to the severe drop in the housing industry.

There are many encouraging signs that buyers may finally be getting off of the sidelines. Statewide, sales are up after hitting a low in October of 2007. This is consistent with Alhambra, where May sales were the highest of the last nine months. Furthermore, Alhambra saw the median price of a home rise in May to $515,000.

The unsold inventory was down statewide from a peak back in the 2nd half of 2007. In Alhambra the single family listings hit a recent low of 69 after peaking in October at 113.

Condominiums are not as strong with a median of $388,000, that is flirting with its previous low of $377,000 but inventories are reasonable with a five month supply.

The First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index showed that 45% of the households can now afford the median priced home. This is the highest this number has been in the last five years.

Mortgage Resets have finally peaked. These are the dates at which the mortgage rates change (rise) on the Adjustable Rate Mortgages. This has been the trigger of many of the foreclosures. Now that we are on the down side of the curve, it is hopeful that the bulk of the foreclosures are behind us.

No one expects us to bounce back, as most think we will slumber through a long recovery period. It would be good news enough if only we have stopped the bleeding. In the meantime, those low prices are not bad if you are buying.

*Data was obtained from California MLS Alliance and deemed to be reliable. Lee Lieberg can be contacted at lee.lieberg@dilbeck.com.