A mixed bag for local San Gabriel Valley housing
Pasadena Star News
By Ryan Carter
...For the fourth month in a row, the median price of a single family home in California rose in June as first-time local home buyers and cash-ready investors took advantage of low prices - which continued creeping up. But in some San Gabriel Valley cities, strapped by rising unemployment, prices continued to fall...
...The question is, will the momentum they created last, said Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast and professor at USC.
"These are the prices of sales in June ... so probably people bought these in May, which means people are taking advantage of the stimulus," she said, referring to the $8,000 federal tax credit. "But California is no longer taking applications."
It remains to be seen what effect limited rebate funding will have on inventory, Conway said. Shrinking inventory has driven the median price up. And while the market is showing signs of recovery, there are other headwinds to watch out for, such as more foreclosures and rising unemployment...