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Existing home prices in Albany fell nearly 4% in first quarter of 2008

By Jim Travers, Section Diaries
Posted on Tue May 13, 2008 at 03:36:17 PM EST

From today's Business Review:

"The median price for existing single-family homes during the first three months of the year was $194,100, compared to $201,800 during the first quarter of 2007, a 3.8 percent decline."

"Only 48 of 149 MSAs (Municipal Statistical Area) in the country, or about one-third, had an increase in median prices during the quarter. The biggest increase in the U.S. was in Binghamton, where prices rose 11.8 percent, to $109,700."

"Following Binghamton, the strongest rates of increase in the Northeast were in Elmira (up 9.6 percent to $82,500) and Glens Falls (up 7.7 percent, to $163,100)."

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/05/12/daily15.html?f=et49&ana=e_du
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Existing home prices in Albany fell nearly 4% in first quarter of 2008 | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)

But In My Neighborhood... (none / 0) (#1)
by Dan Van Riper on Tue May 13, 2008 at 03:45:17 PM EST

The article is a little vague about the region that they are talking about. Usually GCAR posts data about sales and prices by county, and that will probably pop up broken down by county in the Gazette and the Hearst Rag in the next day or two.

Home prices are going down in every region and in almost every county in the country, so this is no surprise. As gas prices go up, the new mcmansions out in the exurbs go begging, which drags down all the figures.

Meanwhile, I can report that the property values here in the South End of Albany are going up. And they will continue to rise for the forseeable future. There are still tremendous bargains to be had, but the door is closing fast...

Dan's right on this one (none / 0) (#2)
by AlfredMoisiu on Tue May 13, 2008 at 07:26:44 PM EST

I think the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA includes alot of suburban property where many homes aren't affordable to many people using conforming loans. Non-conforming loans are hard to come by, so demand is dropping.

I'm looking at re-financing my home, and my assessment is up significantly from what it was a few years ago, which was a pleasant surprise.

We'll see what happens as the state and city's fiscal condition continue to spin.

Vague, Dan? (none / 0) (#3)
by Jim Travers on Tue May 13, 2008 at 11:27:22 PM EST

"The article is a little vague about the region that they are talking about."

"The first-quarter results reported by the NAR differ from the numbers released by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors in April. That's because the NAR counts sales in the five-county Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA, while GCAR covers an 11-county area.

Also, the GCAR results include sales of existing and new homes, while the NAR is just existing homes.

According to GCAR, the median sales price in the Albany region increased 3 percent in the first quarter, to $190,000."

AM, yes that is but one reason new mortgages aren't being written. Another reason, the primary one, I believe, is that no one wants to lock into a mortgage for X amount while prices are tumbling, Why sign on the dotted line for a $250K house today when in a few months it may only be worth $225? (or much less?)

For those of you unfamilar with the terminology
non-conforming / conforming loans:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-conforming_loans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conforming_loan

Good points (none / 0) (#4)
by AlfredMoisiu on Wed May 14, 2008 at 08:19:28 PM EST

When I moved back to the area in 2004, the market was insane -- so much cheap money was available that you needed to make a home purchase decision within minutes of the property going on the market.

Today, in this area, I think we're in a normal real estate market. Sellers aren't desperate, and buyers aren't in a frenzy. Houses are moving when they are priced appropriately.

In California, it's a totally different situation. The market is in free-fall, and anyone who has purchased a home since 2002 has the double whammy of being underwater on their mortgage AND being fleeced on property taxes. (In CA, assessments adjust no more than 1%, unless it changes hands) Otherwise upstanding people are defaulting, because selling their home could leave them $100,000+ in the hole.

So I don't think the threat of price depreciation is a factor here. If anything, monetary inflation makes buying fixed assets a better deal today.

[ Parent ]

: alfred and me (none / 0) (#5)
by DIA on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:23:58 PM EST

the way things are going, alfred, soon people will have to check to see who is writing the posts.
Borrow as much as you can in 2008 dollars and buy good quality fixed assets. Sit back and watch inflation make your loan payments smaller and smaller. Let the bankers eat it. 2008 dollars at 6%? It is like knowing the numbers to the lottery the night before.

[ Parent ]

Existing home prices in Albany fell nearly 4% in first quarter of 2008 | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)

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