Realtors Waiting for Bottom

Even realtors don’t believe California’s housing market has hit bottom.

Home prices throughout most areas of the state will post declines next year, though sales of existing homes will continue rising, according to the 2009 housing market forecast released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors.

“The current uncertainty about the financial system and economy is likely to persist over the next several weeks, and could extend into next year,” CAR president William E. Brown said in a statement. “Our forecast assumes that the financial system will begin to show signs of stabilization late in 2008 and into early 2009.”

The CAR forecast predicts the median home price in California will decline 6% to $358,000 in 2009, from a projected $381,000 median this year. Sales for 2009 are projected to increase 12.5% to 445,000 units, from a projected 395,600 units in 2008.

“The median price will be influenced through the balance of 2008 by the typical seasonal decrease in home prices as well as ongoing downward pressure from distressed sales,” said CAR vice president and chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “For all of 2008, the median price is expected to fall by 31.7% from $558,100 to $381,000.”

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