January 20th, 2014 9:40 AM by Nick Rapplean
The California Association of Realtors published, what it called, the Top 10 Turnaround Towns - a list of areas where the year-to-year upward movement of the median list price and the year-to-year downward movement of the number of days on the market before sale came together to make each of the listed areas one of the strongest success stories for 2013.
I'll tell you up front that California has the largest selection of winners and the list is quite interesting. Here it is:
1. Oakland (with a 41.3% higher median listing price year over year, and a 53.1% year-over-year decline in the number of days on the market before sale).
2. Orange County (a 29.4% higher listing price, and 43.3% lower number of days on the market before sale).
3. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc (34.3% up and 30.9% down).
4. San Jose (25% up and 64% down).
5. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett (17.2% up and 55.8% fewer days on the market).
6. Los Angeles-Long Beach (30.3% higher listing price and 27.2% fewer days on the market).
7. Detroit (37.8% up and 25% down).
8. Portland, OR-Vancouver, WA (12% up and 45.8% down).
9. San Diego (21.1% up and 26.4% down).
10. Reno, Nevada (26% up and 32.3% down).
And that's it.
Really, the only place that isn’t located on or near the Pacific Ocean is Detroit; you probably remember about two-thirds of the way through 2013, when the bean counters exclaimed with astonishment that the comeback king had just become Detroit.
The Motor City has slipped a bit since then, but it still represents the qualities that inspire new residents to live there, a decent number of jobs, great housing opportunities, and a lot of attractive amenities.
Bur the reality is that, once again, the West Coast above all, Californian’s bring the Nation's real estate market back to life. Those who are working in the Golden State can thank their lucky stars. Many people who aren't working there are currently trying to find a way to move there.
There are several things worth watching closely. At the top of my own list is the new housing construction that is being started and will soon be completed. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at NAR, has reiterated that the current real estate recovery won’t have much lasting power unless we can grow a sizable crop of brand-new homes. The hiring for new construction itself could have a dramatic effect on the employment rate on the West Coast. And, it may prove fascinating to see the new housing designs that are used over the coming few years. Will homes be smaller? Will they be far greener than the homes of a decade ago? Will we develop new and more efficient ways of financing their purchase?