From: hamachi@adobe.com (Gordon Hamachi)
Newsgroups: misc.invest.real-estate
Subject: Real Estate News Summary, Part 109
Date: 23 Jul 92 21:53:31 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated

Real Estate News Summary, Part 109, June 1992

847. Silicon Valley is in a battle for survival.  Job growth has lagged the
     rest of the Bay Area and the country, bankruptcies soared more than 30%
     between 1989 and 1991, and 20% of the residents have sought jobs outside
     the valley.  Since 1984 the region has lost more than 30,000 jobs.  New
     business formation has fallen 75%.  High land costs, and lack of
     affordable housing make it difficult for companies to attract skilled
     employees.  Regulations have made it too costly for many firms to do
     business in Silicon Valley.  [San Francisco Chronicle]

848. Sales of single-family homes dropped 15.5% in the Bay Area compared with
     May 1991, after a year-to-year drop of 7.6% in April.  Nationally, housing
     sales fell 1.4% in May after a 7% increase in April.  Meanwhile the median
     sales price of a Bay Area home was $255,540 in May, a decrease of 4.5%
     from May 1991 but an increase of 1.2% from April.  Nationwide, the median
     was $100,900, down 0.4% from a year ago.  [San Francisco Chronicle]

849. Peninsula home sales are picking up, but buyers are concentrating on
     economy rather than luxury.  Property valued under $450,000 fared better
     than pricier real estate in May, and sellers got closer to their asking
     price than the previous month.  In San Mateo County the average single
     family home sold at $393,994, down from the year-earlier average of
     $425,783, reflecting sales of more affordable homes rather than a dip in
     market value.  [Times Tribune]

850. Suppose you bought a $250K home in 1988.  Your home's value peaked at
     $275K in 1989 and then slipped back to $255K.  But this doesn't mean a
     home is a bad investment.  After 10 years of monthly mortgage payments you
     paid $21,200 principal, $172,000 interest, plus property taxes, insurance
     and maintenance.  If you had rented a comparable house for $1,250 a month,
     that's $150,000 in rent you'd pay over the 10 years.  But rent usually
     increases and isn't tax-deductible, so owning still compares favorably to
     renting in most cases.  [San Francisco Examiner]

851. The Resolution Trust Corp will hold its first ever Bay Area public auction
     of 13 residential and 2 commercial properties in the Bay Area.
     [San Francisco Examiner]

852. A new breed of California real estate pioneer, part optimist and part
     daredevil, are paying 35% or more of their income each month on housing.
     More than 1 in 5 Californian homeowners find themselves in this position.
     People still view housing as one of the best investments they can make.
     They will stretch themselves as far as the lenders let them.  For some
     homes are status symbols.  Real estate experts say that high mortgages
     usually are mitigated by time, as payments remain fixed while the owner's
     salary increases over the years.  [McClatchy News Service]

853. South Bay housing values have stabilized from their nosedive of the past 2
     years.  Prices rose in 18 area/type categories, fell in 46 categories, and
     were unchanged in 6 categories.  The estimated price of a 3-bedroom home
     in Sunnyvale plummeted 13.2% in the past 6 months, the steepest drop
     reported of Santa Clara County cities surveyed.  A glut of 3-bedroom homes
     on the market in Sunnyvale may force sellers to further lower their
     prices.  Blamed are heavy job losses in high tech and military-related
     industries.  [San Francisco Examiner]