Sacramento Regional Real Estate Trends for March 21, 2009

We had a minor uptick in inventory this week, notable only because it was the first week over week increase since January. To bastardize a great writer, this may be how the Spring Bounce begins, not with a bang but a whimper. If there's any consolation for the buyers, asking prices remain on the downswing (save Yolo County). Indeed, median prices in Sacramento County have hit Y2K levels. Good hunting!

Sacramento Regional Real Estate Trends for March 14, 2009

No sign yet of a Spring inventory bounce this year; the only bounce we're seeing is an increase in aggregate asking prices as lower-priced inventory is leaving the market and higher-priced inventory is coming on.

I think it's late enough in the year to ask the question: Do you think there will be a Spring bounce in inventory this year? If anyone has a guess, please leave a comment!

Also, you all may have noticed a reduction in the amount of snark around here lately. Well, the gracious hosts of "After The Crash" were kind enough to let me use their blog as a platform for my less stats-related opinion posts. The blog is a co-op run by two of the Calculated Risk commentariat, nova and Hoopajoops, LTD, and features econo-disaster fan fiction, rants, raves, and occasional posts by me. Follow along, or join in if you feel like it.

California State Reveune Data: February 2009

The California state controller's office has released the February 2009 revenue statement (pdf), and it's ugly once again:

Year-to-date collections for the three major taxes were $6.2 billion below (-11.4%) last year at this time. Retail sales were down $1.74 billion (-9.8%), corporate taxes fell by $952.7 million (-18.6%), and income taxes were $3.5 billion lower (-11%) than
last year’s total at the end of February.

After February's $1.4 billion shortfall, the FY2009 budget is running $5.5 billion short of FY2008:


In another ominous sign, this drop is almost a billion dollars worse than the Governor's latest revised FY2009 projections, upon which the latest budget overhaul was based:

The State’s revenues continued to deteriorate in February. Total General Fund receipts were down $973 million from the latest estimates found in the Governor’s January Budget proposal.

The current rate of revenue decline makes the latest budget revision inoperable before it can be enacted. Unless the economy revives, or the federal government provides more stimulus, California is looking as severe government cutbacks in the near future.