Over 10,000 Jobs Lost in Sacramento Region, Unemployment Jumps to 7.9%

From the Sacramento Business Journal:

California and the Sacramento region’s jobless rates both increased a half-percentage point, reaching the highest levels since 1994....The Sacramento area’s jobless rate increased to 7.9 percent, from 7.4 perent in September and 5.5 percent a year ago, according to the state report.

From the Sacramento Bee:

[T]he Sacramento region has lost 10,200 jobs in a year, a 1.1 percent decline. The state has lost 101,300 jobs in a year, a 0.7 percent drop.

Interactive Map: Unemployment by County

From News10:

Stacy Brown of Sacramento hasn't missed any [house] payments, but said she's worried about the months ahead. "Our hours are being cut due to the budget, so I see my salary decreasing so I just want to try to keep ahead of the game," she said. She was among dozens waiting up to three hours to meet with their lenders.

From News10:

Mike Lyon of TrendGraphix said to get ready for another 10 percent price drop over the next four months. It could very well dip to 2001 pricing, he said.
...
Lyon predicted the median home price will bounce above $200,000 in the coming months but says that won't be because home prices are increasing. Instead, he expects foreclosures on larger move-up homes to increase, especially in newer subdivisions in the foothills. He believes those homes will have foreclosure pricing in the $300,000 range and up, thereby increasing the median price of homes in the area.

From the News-Review:

Ray Davis won’t ever refute a moniker bestowed upon him — “the eternal optimist” — because the chief executive officer of Umpqua Bank sees signs of financial recovery, even in these troubled economic times. Take the housing market in Sacramento, Calif., for example, where the average selling time for a home went from 18 months in September 2007 to now less than five months, Davis said...“People are bidding on foreclosures which says we’re hitting bottom in Sacramento,” he said....

From the Sacramento Bee:

Bank repossessions again accounted for the majority of home purchases, especially in Sacramento County, the largest sector of the region's real estate market. DataQuick said two-thirds of the county's sales involved bank repos. "The bad news is there's a lot of foreclosures in the market. The good news is they're selling," said Pat Shea, Sacramento regional manager for Prudential California Realty. "Teachers, policemen, nurses – they can all buy houses now."

Interactive Map: Sacramento Home Price Trends By Community

From the Appeal Democrat:

Yuba County's $175,000 median price in October was 34.5 percent below a year ago, MDA DataQuick reported Thursday...Median prices in the county have fallen 50.2 percent since their November 2005 high of $351,500...Sutter County's October median price was $183,000, down 29.7 percent from the same time last year....Median home prices are now 46 percent below their December 2005 peak of $339,000.

From the Modesto Bee:

Stanislaus County homes sold for a median $161,500 last month....Home prices have dropped a staggering 59.2 percent below the $396,000 peak hit in December 2005...Merced County is even worse. Median-priced homes there sold for $136,750 last month....Merced prices have plunged 64.3 percent since peaking at $382,750 in December 2005...San Joaquin County home values...are 55.7 percent below their November 2005 peak of $451,500.

"It's impossible to say when the bottom will hit," said John Knight, professor of finance and real estate at the University of the Pacific. "I never anticipated such a huge drop in housing prices so quickly."
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[F]or "prudent consumers who waited to buy," [basically ignoring everything the UOP folks have said for the last three years] Knight said, "there are some tremendous opportunities now. Prices really cannot go much lower ... because it's becoming less expensive to own than to rent. That provides kind of a floor to housing prices."