More ugly numbers

Here's the weekly update for the median listing prices from Housingtracker.net. As you can see the price reductions continue, averaging about $3k per week still. The inventory numbers continue to hold steady. Some weeks are up a few hundred and some down. Although there was a big increase in the core areas this week, putting us up nearly 7% over a month ago.



here's the county wide numbers,

Trend	06/16/2008	1 month	3 month	6 month	12 month
Median Price	$275,000	-4.8%	-13.9%	-21.4%	-31.2%
Inventory	46,962	+0.4%	-4.4%	-7.5%	-7.8%

Date	Inventory (SFH + Condo)	25th Percentile	50th Percentile (Median)	75th Percentile
06/16/2008	46,962	$199,000	$275,000	$395,000
06/09/2008	47,297	$199,900	$279,000	$399,000
06/02/2008	46,949	$200,000	$280,000	$399,000
05/26/2008	47,187	$200,000	$285,000	$399,000
05/19/2008	46,779	$208,900	$289,000	$399,900

And here's the core area numbers.

Trend	06/14/2008	1 month	3 month	6 month	12 month
Median Price	$275,000	-6.7%	-16.6%	-27.4%	-37.5%
Inventory	14,827	+6.7%	+2.7%	+1.9%	+6.0%

Date	Inventory	25th Percentile	50th Percentile (Median)	75th Percentile
06/14/2008	14,827	$200,000	$275,000	$375,900
06/07/2008	13,660	$205,000	$279,900	$379,900
06/01/2008	13,907	$209,900	$285,000	$389,000
05/28/2008	14,053	$210,000	$287,900	$389,000
05/21/2008	14,068	$212,500	$289,000	$389,000
05/14/2008	13,895	$218,856	$294,900	$395,000

More juicy tidbits.....

There are so many ugly reports hitting the presses today it's hard to pick just a few to paraphrase. Here's a taste of the latest real estate news.

Hard hit cities like Sacramento, Phoenix and Las Vegas are set for more steep losses. Some real estate experts are bracing for price drops of as much as 50%.

(CNNMoney.com) -- With home prices plunging by more than 30% in some markets, bargain-hunters are ready to pounce.

But it may pay for buyers to wait. Many housing experts say that the worst-hit metro areas have even farther to fall, and could see total drops of as much as 50%.

This correction was inevitable, in Youngblood's opinion; home price gains had simply out-paced income by far too much to be sustained.

Historically, home prices have averaged about four times wages. Whenever homes got significantly more expensive, people could not afford to buy and home prices fell back.

But local price-to-income ratios are still out of whack even after steep price declines, which means prices have further to fall. In Los Angeles, where the ratio peaked at 22.7, according to Youngblood, it's still in the high teens. Home prices would have to come down another 40% or so to get that ratio back into the single digits.

The spring activity usually expected in Southern California's housing market was another disappointment last month. Shoppers looking for bargains helped push the region's home sales higher in May compared to April, but it was still the fewest May home sales in the last 20 years.

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?

Nelson also estimates that in 2025 there will be a surplus of 22 million large-lot homes that will not be left vacant in a suburban wasteland but instead occupied by lower classes who have been driven out of their once affordable inner-city apartments and houses.

The so-called McMansion, he said, will become the new multi-family home for the poor.

"What is going to happen is lower and lower-middle income families squeezed out of downtown and glamorous suburban locations are going to be pushed economically into these McMansions at the suburban fringe," said Nelson. "There will probably be 10 people living in one house."