Lake Tahoe Real Estate - Kings Beach

HOME SALES EXPECTED TO REACH RECORD HIGH THIS YEAR Existing-home sales are expected to jump 7.9 percent to 6.58 million in 2004, which tops last year's record, NAR recently reported in its year-end forecast. Reasons for the upwardly revised estimate include stronger than expected home sales and higher median prices. The Association also projects new-home sales to rise 8.9 percent to 1.18 million this year. While NAR foresees a strong housing market in 2005, it predicts that the current sales pace will decline slightly. For 2005, NAR anticipates existing-home sales to reach 6.38 million units, which would be the second-highest level on record, and new-home sales to be 1.13 million units, just shy of the record expected this year. "We're setting our fourth consecutive record year for existing-home sales, and even with strong fundamentals such as household growth, low interest rates and an improving economy, we simply can't set records every year," said David Lereah, NAR's chief economist.

UCLA ANDERSON FORECAST SAYS CALIFORNIA IN A HOUSING BUBBLE The UCLA Anderson Forecast anticipates California's economy to be "solid, but not spectacular" in 2005, UCLA Senior Economist Christopher Thornberg stated at the December 2004 Economic Forecast Conference last week. The state's personal income growth is expected to slow to 5.2 percent in 2005, down from 5.6 percent in 2004, and forecasters predict taxable sales will drop to under 5 percent from this year's 6 percent. UCLA economists also say that a housing bubble has formed in California, citing excessive price increases, rather than overbuilding, as the main factor contributing to the bubble. The UCLA Anderson Forecast did not predict whether the bubble will burst or if it will simply deflate, but analysts believe that consumers will curb their spending once housing prices flatten out.

NAR-MANDATED ETHICS TRAINING DEADLINE The Dec. 31, 2004, deadline to complete the NAR-mandated ethics training is fast approaching. All REALTORS® are required to attend either the New Member Code of Ethics Orientation or Quadrennial Code of Ethics Training during the four-year window between Jan. 1, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2004. A REALTOR®'s obligation is also satisfied if he/she attended training that meets the NAR learning objectives any time after the 1999 NAR Annual Convention but before Jan. 1, 2000. The penalty for a REALTOR® who does not complete the ethics training by the deadline is suspension from membership. For more information on what you need to do to meet this requirement, please visit the link below.

Fast Facts Calif. median home price - Oct. 04: $460,370 (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. affordability index - Oct. 04: 19 percent (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region - Oct. 04: St. Barbara So. Coast $1,053,750 (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region Oct. 04: High Desert $239,400 (Source: C.A.R.) Mortgage rates - week ending 12/9: 30-yr. fixed: 5.71%; Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 5.14%; Fees/points: 0.6% 1-yr. adjustable: 4.15%; Fees/points: 0.7% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Information provided by - C.A.R. Newsline is published by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a trade association representing more than 150,000 REALTORS® statewide.