Sacramento Land(ing)

Thursday, December 28, 2006

2006

Sacramento Land(ing) readers: What were the most important/memorable housing stories of 2006?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...: Very apt, they have a balloon. Hot air balloon.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.; Thursday, December 28, 2006 2:27:00 PM
Anonymous said...: I remember that sign well. The rusty barn in the background was a reminder of the reality (Especially in Stockton).; Thursday, December 28, 2006 2:58:00 PM
Julie Jalone said...: I think the big stories in 2006 were the downturn in the real estate market including the price declines in our Sacramento market, low interest rates and Iraq. In addition I would add the growth of the stock market and problems for US automakers.

Julie Jalone
www.jalone.com; Thursday, December 28, 2006 5:24:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Julie - well said but I'd be more specific about Iraq and how the problems there have pushed the Republicans out of power!; Thursday, December 28, 2006 5:26:00 PM
Anonymous said...: I think the top Sac real estate stories for 2006 were the ones that came out during the 1st half of the year and were all about SLOWING SALES and RISING INVENTORY. Those were the ones that convinced me that the bubble was in trouble.

It really started in late 2005, but back then everyone said, this is just the normal seasonal slowdown and things will pick up in the spring. Then when the spring came, the only thing that picked up was the flood of FOR SALE signs. It was really incredible. On the evening news they would show video of streets in stucco box subdivisions where almost every house had a sign, and you'd hear stories of agents trying to get, like half of the people on the street to take their signs down so things wouldn't look so desperate (some of those agents were probably flippers trying to get to the exit before the ordinary folks).

I don't think most of those houses sold, so it kind of makes one wonder what the spring of 2007 is going to be like.

These were some of the Sac Bee headlines:

Sales of new houses fall 57% (1/13/2006)
Existing home sales sink / Capital region has slowest January in six years. (2/18/2006)
Forget about housing rebound / Sales, inventory and prices all point to a significant downturn in region's market. (5/18/2006)
Home 'for sale' signs soar / May brings near-record inventory in capital area. (6/15/2006); Thursday, December 28, 2006 7:58:00 PM
Perfect Storm said...: For me the top stories in 2006 was the debunking of all the real estate myths spread by realtors.

1) You better buy now or be priced out forever.
2) They are not making anymore land.
3) Real estate always goes up you can't lose.

Never trust a realtor they will always tell you it is a good time to buy.

Also, I think the public is coming to the realization that naturally occurring asbestos in El Dorado Hills and Folsom should be taken very seriously. I feel bad for those that ignore it.; Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:07:00 PM
Rob Dawg said...: Sacramento's own: Casey Serin.; Thursday, December 28, 2006 11:01:00 PM
drwende said...: According to a realtor I spoke with in West Sacramento about a year ago, the reason all those houses are on the market is Hurricane Katrina... so I vote that as the big story of the year.

(Yes, I'm being sarcastic. But that conversation happened.); Friday, December 29, 2006 6:00:00 AM
Anonymous said...: 2006 was the year that the naysayers had to come to grips with reality and admit that there was/is a bubble and that prices would drop. Along with this, it was the year that a lot of people who were giving the "real estate only goes up" speach this time last year have begun to speak their regrets. At least this is the case with my regretful friends.; Friday, December 29, 2006 4:35:00 PM
Spacebar said...: How about Sacramento getting its own housing blog as the biggest story of 2006?; Friday, December 29, 2006 5:44:00 PM
John Lockwood said...: I think the biggest story of the year was me getting a link from Lander for using the D words. My lunch with Julie and Mike is going to be next year, so that won't count.; Saturday, December 30, 2006 12:11:00 AM
drwende said...: Peculiarly, the year is ending with the nay-sayers going back to their nay-saying ways. Twice this past week, the Wall Street Journal has run articles declaring the bottom to be here and the slump to be over.

Of course, they're using nationwide data. The NAR was quick to declare all housing markets to be local in 2004, but now they're discovering that nationwide data lets you gloss over drops in a few major markets.

Maybe the year's big story is that housing markets are NOT local because people get disgusted and MOVE. In the tradition of "South Bay," "North Bay," "East Bay," and the ludicrous, developer-coined "Valley Bay," I refer to Phoenix as "Desert Bay" because so many people here are refugees from California's housing and job markets.; Saturday, December 30, 2006 8:24:00 AM