Home Price Comparison Index (Charleston, Parkersburg: sales, real estate, foreclosures)

[snorpus]

Coldwell-Banker Real Estate has just released their 2008 data, comparing home prices in over 300 markets in the U.S. and Canada. The data compares the prices of a "typical" 2200 sf, 4BR, 2.5Ba house.

The overall average price for such a home was found to be $404,250, which was then normalized to be an index of 100. Here are the prices and indices for the three WV markets in the survey, plus a few out-of-state markets that might be of interest.

Beckley.......... Index = 42............. $170,425
Charleston...... Index = 46............. 184,950
Parkersburg..... Index = 41............. 165,333

Hagerstown, MD....... Index = 66........ $264,825
Tampa, FL............... Index = 71......... 285,000
Leesburg, VA........... Index = 124........ 498,750
Charlotte, NC........... Index = 65......... 262,959


Complete Results

[harborlady]

same house, less money, less taxes. No brainer for me unless you like working 15+ yrs extra to cover the amortization schedule difference.

when people see the real math in terms of their lives getting sucked away from them over nonsense, the inflated rates elsewhere might get the steeper correction they've needed for over 10 yrs now. Off that treadmill is one step to the side.

[billscamaros]

it would be good to see the same type of comparison on median salarys in those places. the same house in beckley is much cheaper than the one in leesburg, va - but it would be interesting to see the ratio of mortgage-to-monthly net income for those locations.

[NOVAmtneer82]

I don't know about some of the other places, but there is a reason Leesburg housing is so high...people there can afford to pay those prices. The city is located in Loudoun County VA, a booming outer suburb of DC that was just ranked by the Census bureau as having the highest median household income in the county. The number for Loudoun was around $107,000 per year and neighboring Fairfax, which ironically has even higher housing prices in most areas, was around $105,000.

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0808/548040.html. The two counties have been fighting over number one bragging rights for the last 5 years or so.

According to city-data, the median household income in Raleigh County WV was $30,818 in 2005. Not exactly the most up to date figures, but wages in this great country of ours haven't exactly been rising that much over the few years.

[r601020]

Home prices plummet to a new record - Aug. 26, 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- National U.S. home prices fell a record 15.4% in the second quarter compared with last year, according to a report released Tuesday.

The latest S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index is down 18.2% from its peak in the second quarter of 2006, and there are no signs that the pace of home-price declines is easing. The second-quarter loss was even larger than the record 14.2% drop posted in the first three months of 2008.

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http://www.zillow.com/static/images/quarterlies/2008-Q2/Map-Real-Estate-Market-Year-over-Year-Home-Price-Appreciation-UnitedStates-US.png (broken link)
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2nd Quarter 2008, Charleston was listed among the 4 cities in the United States where real estate appreciated.

Meltdown of the housing market was predictable, no rocket science necessary. IMO: They still have to drop up to an additional 20% to reflect the wages of the average American worker.

Real estate doesn't go up, wages do, and what the Fed rate cuts did coupled with ARMS, introductory mortgage packages, etc., was artificially inflate wages regarding buying power, creating a housing bubble. Add to that bubble is supply/demand . . if all construction halted, at one point, there was at least a year of housing sitting in ghost towns waiting for buyers that do not exist. Foreclosures are off the scale, which adds more housing supply to the market. Add to the market supply, financially troubled builders dumping their assets (i.e., land depression).

In it's favor, areas like Charleston did not get the real estate bubble because of a depressed economy, and has approximately a 1.5% appreciation in home value (per City Data statistics).

Rent vs. Buy formula works here for buying.

A favorite website :
http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html

Originally Posted by r601020

. . I used these Charleston Zip codes (city data) for median priced home based on recent sales : 25301, 25302, 25303, 25304, 25306, 25309, 25311, 25312, 25313, 25314, 25315, 25320.

Median Value = 136,698 (calc'd)

2000 : 101,400
2005 : 114,000
2008 : 136,698

As the lower cost housing disappears from the market, i.e., < $75,000, this will drag the appreciation higher of existing homes. IMO : Best thing the Charleston area can do for itself with respect to home value is create jobs.

f.y.i. Implode-O-Meter
The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter - tracking the housing finance breakdown, related to Alt-A and subprime mortgages, lending fraud, predatory lending, housing bubble, mortgage banking, foreclosures, debt, consolidation, lawyers, class-action lawsui



Besides job creation, on it's to do list, Charleston has an image problem . . example, this article was found as far away as Seattle

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man faces drunken driving charges after police spotted him riding a farm tractor on a highway without lights or proper warning signs. Kanawha County sheriff's deputies arrested 22-year-old Joshua David Postalwait early Friday morning.
.
.
Postalwait was charged with driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon.

[r601020]

Jim Rogers
Jim Rogers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Jim Rogers is worth listening to. He’s been very successful over time, having co-founded the Quantum Hedge Fund with George Soros, and unlike most guests on the business channels, he’s not trying to sell you anything. These videos are from mid-July, but seem especially relevant post the Fannie/Freddie bailout. (Here’s a recent interview with Jim, long but great.)"

pt 1

YouTube - Jim Rogers : Let the Fannie and Freddie go bancrupt
pt 2

YouTube - Jim Rogers on Bloomberg 2008.07.14 (part 2)


Option ARMageddon

[vec101]

Do know the mortgage rate is dropping. Figure Fed's taking over Fannie and Freddie caused that.

Last week son would have gotten rate at 6.25 but as of Monday he is getting 5.75.

[vec101]

Hey r60, Did you see in yesterday's paper that the police were trying to arrest a woman, she was working delivering pizzas, so they ordered a pizza and arrested her when she delivered it.

[r601020]

Originally Posted by vec101

Hey r60, Did you see in yesterday's paper that the police were trying to arrest a woman, she was working delivering pizzas, so they ordered a pizza and arrested her when she delivered it.

Meth Lab
Charleston Daily Mail - Police Briefs - Police order a pizza, then arrest delivery woman*

Must not have been a very profitable meth lab if she had to deliver pizzas, eh? Even organized crime has to work here to support itself . . very sad.

[snorpus]

Maybe they were selling a special, pepperoni-flavored, meth.