Real Estate Winners and Losers of 2009

By Melinda Fulmer of MSN Real Estate 

The end of 2009 marked the first glimmer of hope in the most severe real-estate downturn of this country’s recent history, as the number of home sales swelled and the tide of foreclosures waned slightly.

“We are almost on the verge of a self-sustaining recovery,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the national association of realtors, in early November.

But for most of the year, the story was pretty grim. Sliding home values and rising unemployment had more people suffering than celebrating.

There were almost too many losers to name in this year-to-be-endured, and most of the winners were folks benefiting from the misfortune of others.

Here’s MSN Real Estate’s look at some of the winners and losers of 2009.

Winner: First-time homebuyers

Winner: Investors

Winner: Homeowners with equity

Winner: Renters

Winner: Debt collectors

Loser: Foreclosed borrowers (and the communities they live in)

Loser: Taxpayers and employees paying for bank excesses

Loser: Underwater homeowners

Loser: Luxury homebuilders

Loser: Remodelers

Employment and economic muscle

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might think the country is out of the recession, but unemployment is rising from Connecticut to California and banks are taking possession of a growing share of American homes. But some metros across the nation have managed to stay out of the recession’s path and could now be poised for recovery. Using data and analysis from the Brookings Institution’s new MetroMonitor study, BusinessWeek.com ranked the nation’s top 40 economies based on job growth, employment, economic growth and home prices.

1. San Antonio, TX

2. Austin-Round Rock, TX

3. Oklahoma City, OK

4. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AK

5. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

6. Baton Rouge, LA

7. Tulsa, OK

8. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

9. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

10. El Paso, TX

I find it interesting that Texas shows up a lot up in the top 10, they must be doing something right!

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Orange County’s median home price appears to be on track for this year’s eighth month of increases, sales numbers that include early October show. And the median (the price at the midpoint of all sales) also appears to be heading for a second month of year-over-year price increases after 24 months of annual price declines.

— Slice Price Yr. ago Sales Yr. ago
Houses $500,000 +6.4% 1,945 +4.9%
Condos $301,000 +3.8% 890 +7.6%
New $491,000 -0.8% 145 -27.1%
All O.C. $432,000 +2.9% 2,980 +3.5%

For the 22 business days ending Oct. 6 — DataQuick’s latest homebuying report — Orange County saw …

•A median price of $432,000, up 2.9% from a year ago.
•While that’s 33% below the June 2007 peak of $645,000, DataQuick’s weekly median price has been rising steadily since early February. (Click on chart to enlarge.)
•A median price of $500,000 for single-family homes. O.C. houses sold for 32% less than their peak pricing (June ‘07).
•A median price of $310,000 for condos, now selling for 36% below their peak in March 2006.
•Builder prices for new homes at $491,000, or 43% below their February ‘05 top.
•In this most recent period, O.C. shoppers bought 2,980 residences — that’s up 3.5% from year-ago buying activity. (From 1997-2006, monthly sales averaged 4,304 per month.)
Today’s DataQuick report comes as the National Association of Realtors reports that existing U.S. homes sales surged a record 9.4 percent in September. The surge comes as Americans rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time buyers before it expires next month.

http://lansner.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/23/oc-home-price-gains-holding-early-numbers-show/41049/

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