Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Has the Sacramento Housing Market "Gotten Ahead of Itself?"

There seems to be a whole industry dedicated to ranking the most overvalued/riskiest housing markets in the country. Once again Sacramento and other Central Valley cities sit prominently on these lists.

Bankrate.com looked at 10 markets that are most likely to experience a decline.

10 bubble busters -- values expected to decline

Sacramento, Calif. We're not quite sure what Sacramento ever did to anyone, but it showed up on just about everyone's list of has-been markets. Winzer's Local Home Value Ratings rates the market as 59 percent overvalued and Burns Housing Cycle Barometer also lists it as overpriced.

"Sacramento, we think, has topped out," says Gollis of The Concord Group. "There is just so much (housing construction) in the pipeline. It's a steady-as-she goes market and has always had consistent growth, but we think the land market has gotten ahead of itself."
Meanwhile, the latest National City Corp./Global Insight study shows that affordability has continued to decline as mortgage rates have increased. Here's a rundown of some of the most overvalued markets in the country (out of 299 markets):
  • #2 Merced: 86.20%
  • #4 Stockton: 79.50%
  • #5 Madera: 77.00%
  • #9 Modesto: 72.30%
  • #12 Fresno: 65.40%
  • #13 Sacramento: 63.80%
  • #15 Bakersfield: 62.40%
  • #16 Chico: 62.10%
  • #19 Redding: 60.30%
  • #30 Visalia: 53.90%
Previous Post: Sacramento Market 61% Overvalued?

2 comments:

surfer-x said...

Not even God cares about Sacameno. Vile, rotten place not fit for the likes of my own malignant kin.

drwende said...

That's about the right number... houses went from $280,000 to $400,000+ in under three years, while rents stayed consistent with the $280,000 value.