San Jose Real Estate * REALTOR ® * Richard Gonzalez

Archive for February, 2009

Feb 25

Entry Level Affordability Index Rises to 49% in Silicon Valley

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 | Comments Off

An interesting new statistic was recently released by the California Association of REALTORS showing Santa Clara County affordability index has climbed from 24% to 49%. Yet another indication that REO(bank owned properties) and Short Sales are making home ownership in Silicon Valley a legitimate option. Take a look at the C.A.R. chart below.

C.A.R. Region	Housing Affordability Index	Entry-Level Price	Monthly Payment Including Taxes & Insurance	Minimum Qualifying Income
California	59	$248,030	$1,630	$48,900
California – Condos	65	$210,830	$1,380	$41,400
United States	72	$153,090	$1,000	$30,000
High Desert	76	$125,080	$820	$24,600
Los Angeles County	46	$301,110	$1,970	$59,100
Monterey Region	58	$265,700	$1,740	$52,200
Northern California	56	$241,410	$1,580	$47,400
Northern Wine Country	53	$300,890	$1,970	$59,100
Orange County	48	$395,100	$2,590	$77,700
Palm Sprgs/Lwr Desert	65	$159,310	$1,040	$31,200
Riverside/SBernardino	70	$171,060	$1,120	$33,600
Sacramento County	74	$159,750	$1,050	$31,500
San Diego County	56	$282,910	$1,860	$55,800
San Francisco Bay	47	$414,070	$2,720	$81,600
San Luis Obispo County	44	$317,330	$2,080	$62,400
Santa Barbara Area	55	$269,380	$1,770	$53,100
Santa Clara County	49	$446,250	$2,930	$87,900
Southern California	58	$248,380	$1,630	$48,900
Ventura County	58	$333,480	$2,190	$65,700
County	\	\	\	\
Alameda	48	$369,050	$2,420	$72,600
Contra Costa	35	$540,050	$3,540	$106,200
Fresno	70	$140,000	$920	$27,600
Marin	29	$709,420	$4,650	$139,500
Merced	79	$101,850	$670	$20,100
Riverside	71	$168,640	$1,110	$33,300
San Bernardino	70	$166,540	$1,090	$32,700
San Francisco	30	$570,660	$3,740	$112,200
San Mateo	37	$559,300	$3,670	$110,100
Santa Cruz	43	$391,000	$2,560	$76,800
Sonoma	56	$295,600	$1,940	$58,200

Source: California Association of REALTORS

Methodology of First Time Homebuyers Data

Feb 24

Silicon Valley Falls Short of Obamas Foreclosure Rescue Plan

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 | Comments Off

Metropolitan statistical area – Percentage of homes that qualify based on Obama plan	% qualifying
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara County) Silicon Valley	6.9%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, San Mateo counties)	8.4%
Napa	8.8%
Santa Rosa-Petaluma(Sonoma County)	12%
Vallejo-Fairfield (Solano County)	17.6%
United States	25.1%

Source: Zillow.com

Historical data shows us that Silicon Valley has always been resilient when the housing market has gone south. Now that the Obama plan to help people renegotiate their mortgages has been introduced it comes as no surprise to me that only 6.9% of Silicon Valley homeowners will be able to qualify for this assistance. The question now on the minds of most people is do I continue to sink and hope I don’t drown in debt and bad credit or to I mitigate my losses and try to short sale my property?

Everyone has their own unique situation but forst homeowners will now have to formulate a plan of action just in case they have to give up their home and rebuild(Worst Case Scenario).

I say that only because pride can put you on a collision course with bankruptcy, especially if the banks and investors are not willing to work with you.