White Collar Job Lose Commences; Declining Market in Stockton

Last week, I posted on the job losses occurring in the construction industry. Now there is news of job cuts in the local mortgage industry. The Stockton Record reports that Washington Mutual is cutting 100 jobs in Stockton. That's over 10% of Washington Mutual's workforce in Stockton.

One hundred Washington Mutual employees in downtown Stockton were told Wednesday their jobs will be eliminated as part of a cost-saving move in a declining mortgage market that will slash 2,500 jobs nationwide and close 10 loan-processing offices.

The Seattle Bubble blog has more here.

The Stockton Record also reports on the declining market in San Joaquin County.

Resale homes are staying on the market longer before they sell these days, but prices, at least in Stockton, have been holding while countywide prices slipped last month.Year-to-year sales-price increases are still up between 9 and 22-plus percent for the various communities, but that's down sharply from the heady 25-40 percent annual price jumps typical of the previous several years.In San Joaquin County, the median sales price fell from $425,000 in December to $414,000 last month, while in Stockton the median sales price slid from $387,000 to $385,000 in the same period, according to figures from the latest Coldwell Banker Grupe-TrendGraphix monthly sales report, based on Multiple Listing Service data. Flat or sliding prices have been attributed to a steady rise in the number of homes for sale after several years of unusually low numbers of houses on the market.

Insert spin control here:

Most sellers aren't panicking, said James Abbott, office manager of the Coldwell Banker Grupe office in Stockton. "Mostly, we all have to think differently. We're in a different market now. Just because we're not getting multiple offers in one week doesn't mean that it's a bad market or that a bubble's going to pop."

The article also mentions rebounding inventory, "sharply" declining sales, and increased time on the market.