Housing News
News flash – California real estate is more expensive than yours
Mansion in San Jose, California. Photo by David Sawyer.
Top ten priciest places are in the Golden State
We recently reported on CNN Money’s “Best Places to live in 2011” list comprised of small towns evaluated and ranked. Interestingly, California didn’t win any of the top 10, 25 or even 50 spots, but the magazine has now rated the ten priciest towns from their Best Places list, with all ten top spots snatched up by the Golden State.
It is not surprising that median home sale prices in California are drastically higher than other states, but it is surprising that no New York towns or other Northeastern towns showed up in the top ten list (although they round out the top 25).
Top 10 priciest towns in America
Each town is listed with their median home prices:
- Hillsborough, CA $ 2,277,500
- Los Altos Hills, CA $ 2,273,250
- Montecito, CA $ 1,864,000
- Beverly Hills, CA $ 1,595,000
- San Marino, CA $ 1,560,000
- Tiburon, CA $ 1,425,000
- Los Altos, CA $ 1,422,500
- Manhattan Beach, CA $ 1,360,000
- Saratoga, CA $ 1,349,000
- Palos Verdes Estates, CA $ 1,339,927
In many towns across America, especially in the Midwest, these prices would buy an entire ranch or apartment building, but in California, these are the median prices of homes sold in 2010. News flash – California real estate is more expensive than yours.
Austin
Austin tops the list of best places to buy a home
When looking to buy a home, taking the long view is important before making such a huge investment – where are the best places to make that commitment?
Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
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Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Chris
August 23, 2011 at 4:50 pm
That is shocking that not one New York city made the list. It just shows you that everybody wants to live in the sunshine and nice weather.
coc
January 3, 2012 at 9:37 am
Wrong. Not everyone comes here for the sunshine.
Ruthmarie Hicks
August 23, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I don't know how this is measured. However NY has a very strong cooperative market that is essentially entry level and provides an entry point for many seeking housing. If those are included in the numbers – that will bring down median prices in places like NYC and Westchester. Just my $0.02.