* Note last paragraph (an excerpt of the article below)
BAY AREA HOUSING STRONGEST IN STATE: ECONOMIST SAYS SONOMA COUNTY MARKET NEEDS MORE RECOVERY TIME BECAUSE OF RECENT JOB LOSSESPublished on February 2, 2007© 2007- The Press DemocratBYLINE: NATHAN HALVERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: E1The Bay Area housing market is now the strongest in California and beginning to level off while other parts of the state are continuing to slump, the real estate industry's top economist in California predicted Thursday.
But Sonoma County will take longer to recover because of a recent exodus of jobs in the county, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.Overall, sales of existing homes will decline 7 percent across California this year, Appleton-Young told local business leaders Thursday at the annual North Bay Economic Outlook Conference in Rohnert Park. But the downturn is tapering off, she said, compared to last year's 23 percent decline in sales.
``The worst is over,'' she said.
Prices will likely stay flat in the Bay Area for the next 18 months, she said. Statewide, prices will decline 2 percent next year, she said.
In other parts of the state, the slowdown is driven by an excess of homes, especially in the Central Valley. But in Sonoma County, where inventory is still near record lows, the housing slump will be prolonged by job losses. The county has lost 2,000 jobs over the past year, primarily in tech manufacturing, retail stores and restaurants, according to fourth-quarter figures provided by the state Employment Development Department.
The erosion of jobs in Sonoma County will likely impact sales of low- and midpriced homes the most, Appleton-Young said. Luxury homes will be affected the least, she said, because Sonoma County remains a destination for people who want to live in Wine Country or purchase a vacation home..........
BAY AREA HOUSING STRONGEST IN STATE: ECONOMIST SAYS SONOMA COUNTY MARKET NEEDS MORE RECOVERY TIME BECAUSE OF RECENT JOB LOSSESPublished on February 2, 2007© 2007- The Press DemocratBYLINE: NATHAN HALVERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: E1The Bay Area housing market is now the strongest in California and beginning to level off while other parts of the state are continuing to slump, the real estate industry's top economist in California predicted Thursday.
But Sonoma County will take longer to recover because of a recent exodus of jobs in the county, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.Overall, sales of existing homes will decline 7 percent across California this year, Appleton-Young told local business leaders Thursday at the annual North Bay Economic Outlook Conference in Rohnert Park. But the downturn is tapering off, she said, compared to last year's 23 percent decline in sales.
``The worst is over,'' she said.
Prices will likely stay flat in the Bay Area for the next 18 months, she said. Statewide, prices will decline 2 percent next year, she said.
In other parts of the state, the slowdown is driven by an excess of homes, especially in the Central Valley. But in Sonoma County, where inventory is still near record lows, the housing slump will be prolonged by job losses. The county has lost 2,000 jobs over the past year, primarily in tech manufacturing, retail stores and restaurants, according to fourth-quarter figures provided by the state Employment Development Department.
The erosion of jobs in Sonoma County will likely impact sales of low- and midpriced homes the most, Appleton-Young said. Luxury homes will be affected the least, she said, because Sonoma County remains a destination for people who want to live in Wine Country or purchase a vacation home..........
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