California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona led the nation for housing-price jumps a few years ago. Now, home prices are down in all of the states except Arizona.
Figures released late last week show during the first quarter of this year housing appreciation fell 0.84 percent in California, 0.34 percent in Florida and 0.52 percent in Nevada.
Arizona housing appreciation eked out a hike of 0.13 percent, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s quarterly report based on repeat sales and refinancings on mortgages of $420,000 and less. advertisement
Nationally, home prices were up about half a percentage point during the first three months of 2007.
Home prices fell in 22 of the 26 California cities ranked by the federal agency. In Florida, appreciation was down in 13 of the 18 cities.
Metropolitan Phoenix’s housing-appreciation rate was flat during the first quarter. Based on the drops in other cities that posted huge gains like Phoenix a year ago, a flat appreciation rate looks pretty good.
Most of the talk has been about metro Phoenix’s residential market during the past few years as it has soared and sagged. But commercial real estate gives Arizona’s economy quite a boost.
Statewide, non-residential real estate - new office, warehouse and retail buildings - contributed $4.876 billion in direct spending during 2005. Those are the results of a National Association of Industrial and Office Properties Research Foundation report released Friday.
The commercial real estate industry also supported 104,940 full-time jobs in Arizona.
Interest rates head up
Home shoppers might be getting a little interest-rate shock. Mortgage rates hit a nine-month high this week.
The average rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage climbed to 6.42 percent, according to home-loan giant Freddie Mac. A few weeks ago, the average was 6.15 percent.
Sure, 30-year fixed rates dipped below 6 percent in 2005, but in 2000 they were 8 percent and higher.
Many mortgage brokers are advising clients to go with fixed-rate loans because the current rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage is averaging 6.19 percent.
Conservation drive
The world’s largest commercial real estate brokers CB Richard Ellis wants to go “carbon neutral” by 2010 and help many of its clients do the same.
The company manages more than 1.7 billion square feet of building space worldwide, so it’s in a position to do something.
CB, which is Arizona’s largest commercial brokerage, is working with the Natural Resources Defense Council to start or expand energy-saving measures at properties. Energy use in buildings is responsible for 40 percent of U.S. global-warming emissions, according to the council.
