I’m doing a re-fi on my house and just got the appraisal back yesterday. The bad news: It’s now worth about half what it was worth three years ago. The good news: Well, there really isn’t any.
Of course, I live in California so the drop has probably been more precipitous than the drop in most areas, but still…
The point is that anyone who tells you the real estate market is getting better is dreaming. Or lying. Take your choice.
Want more proof than the idle ramblings of a disgruntled California homeowner? Check out the latest findings from Zillow Real Estate Research:
“Home values fell three percent in the first quarter of this year, marking a pace of decline not seen since 2008 when the housing recession was at its worst.
“Home values fell one percent between February and March and 8.2 percent from March 2010. The cumulative decline in home values since the market peak is now 29.5 percent (see Figures 1 and 2).”
These charts tell the terrible tale:
Some of the report’s other lowlights include these gems:
• Nearly three-quarters (74.5 percent) of homes in the United States lost value from Q1 2010 to Q1 2011. That’s up from Q4 2010, when 69.2 percent had lost value, but is down substantially from a peak of 85.5 percent in Q1 2009.
• Negative equity in the first quarter reached new high with 28.4 percent of all single-family homes with mortgages underwater, from 27 percent in Q4.
Foreclosure re-sales reached a new peak in March 2011, representing 23.7 percent of all sales during the month compared to 17 percent in March 2010.
• Foreclosure re-sales have been increasing steadily since June, when they made up 14 percent of all sales.
• The supply picture continues to look bad with approximately two million homes in the foreclosure process and another more than 1.5 million homes seriously delinquent.
The real estate picture is uglier than Osama Bin Laden’s favorite wife. And it ain’t getting prettier any time soon.
Source: Zillow.com
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Another indicator would be the strength or weakness of the construction industry. As a heavy equipment operator, I would be involved in the housing market at the earliest possible level in the construction of a housing tract. Preparing for the earthwork, installing underground utilities, etc. And at least in Southern California, trust me, there is VERY little of this work going on.
In Southern California, if a heavy equipment operator is working at all, it is most likely for a contractor doing government work. I guess that would be because nobody else has any money.
have you found any work yet?
Hello, I am married to a hard working heavy equipment operator who hasnt worked steady since 2005, shortly before we bought our first home here in San Bernardino County, California. I was looking for an article, ANYTHING in the press re: the plight of our men. It is serious, and the effects of long termed unemplyment on the workers, psyche, Self esteem, interactions with others, EVERYTHING, is affected by his inability to perform his chosen skill.
Richard is one of the hardest working scraper hands I know, and he is gifted; He is 3rd generation in line form his grand daddy, he has been climbing into a tractor since he was 2 years old and prior to that, he was carried by his daddy. He, his kin and his buddies “built” a significant amount of the inland Empire. His dad graded and built Snow Valley in big bear, and pit the pipe into the side of the mountain up above Greenspit next to the damn below Big Bear. Everywhere we go, It never fails, Rich points out with enthusiasm and pride, “I did the pads on that track!” He was always early to bed, up at 3:30 am, an hour early on the job site to lube and check his equipment and shoot the breezed with the fellows. He worked hard , as all union members do, to become a full fledged member of the Local 12 here in San Bernardino Ca, paying dues when he didn’t have enough for a car payment as he climbed up the ladder…
But today…….theres not even a ladder. In fact, the jobs are scarce.
We lost our home , The company he worked for for years, San Bernardino Construction, folded. Our local giant, Has only 2 out of 250 tractors running.
He has been treated like a second class citizen, a piece of sh$# by a lot of friends and family as they look down on him . Its tearing us apart.
MY POINT: THere is a GREAT need for support groups (for those not stubborn enough to go…..) for the wives and or the worker. We need to take comfort in each other…….We are all isolated and struggling as we watch our hard earned lives slowly get repossessed, ..one item at a time; first its the house, then the second car, then the health insurance, the vacation, the dental work, no more family campouts and the off road equi get sold. The wife, usually already skilled, is working and carrying the brunt of the load which alters the balance of the households hierarchy. The trickle down to the children is palpable but rarely audible….
After 5 years and the 10th or 11th lay off, I asked, “Does the Union offer occupational rehab?” Rich is far from stupid, but he doesn’t know what to do. Hes never needed to imagine doing anything else. it is a part of him. and now its cut off and affecting everything that matters. It is hearbreaking.
We need a way out.
I am writing to hopefully find another in the same boat …. you are my first try.
Heartbreaking story that’s becoming all too common. Where do you live in the Inland Empire? That’s where I grew up.
Highland, we lost our home in Grand Terrace. Funny, I don’t know how I ended up back here, but I finally saw your comment.
Leslie
Leslie: Good luck from one former Grand Terrace resident to another.
Greenspit. Thats funny. Ahh I should always proofread before submitting….
it should be….”He PUT the pipe into the side of the mountain above GREENSPOT RD” sorry…