According to the Wall Street Journal, "If you own a home in a former bubble region like California or southern Florida, there's bad news... and really bad news."
Don't go bargain hunting in these markets (though there are always a few good bargains in all markets from time to time). Prices have been sinking in Arizona, Florida, and California, but still homes are way too high-priced for average personal incomes in these and other markets, so residential property prices will need to keep falling before the deals begin to surface, and especially in the aforementioned three states.
It could take another 10 years for California wages to rise to make today's home prices look reasonable.
According to the WSJ article, "Median prices in California peaked in 2006 at 13.3 times per capita incomes. They may be down now to about 11.1 times." Click Here for the Complete WSJ Article
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Taunya Fagan Bozeman Real Estate 406.579.9683 taunya.fagan@prumt.com
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Depending on the day, we are either the #1 or #2 area in the state for foreclosures. Sales are off 78% from 18 months ago, prices are down 30 - 40%.80% of what few sales there are are bank owned properties - BUT, the tide is turning. The bottom line is 500,000 people have moved to California every year for the past 20+ years. and every year we only build enough homes for about 2/3 of them. That's our true housing crisis and the reason why we generate atypically higher prices. The WSJ and most Eastern economists can't seem to come to grips with the cyclical reality we call normal.
I just posted my year-end summary blog if you're interested in the stats.
Don't wait to buy real estate - buy real estate and wait.