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County home sales and prices plunge

Saturday, January 10, 2009 11:33 PM PST

By Erik Olson

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Cowlitz County home sales slumped by nearly 50 percent in December from a year ago, and the median sale prices fell to the lowest in almost three years, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported last week.

At the same time, the county’s inventory dropped 20 percent from this summer to 659 homes — the lowest of the year — indicating sellers are pulling out of the market to wait for better times, according to the listing service.

Real estate agents sold 32 homes in December, down from 54 in November and 58 in December of the previous year. The real estate market typically slows during the winter months, but 2008’s numbers are almost half what last year’s home sales were in the same month.

The December median price in Cowlitz County also fell --- to $156,000, down from $172,750 in December 2007. The monthly median price last fell this low in January 2006, when it was $151,500 but continued to rise through the year.

Investors are looking to buy more low-end foreclosed homes in Cowlitz County and turn them into rentals, said Eric Pucci, owner of the Longview-based ReMax Premier Group.

“I’ve seen a lot of the investors coming out of the woodwork,” Pucci said.

There are signs of hope for the Cowlitz County housing market in 2009. At the beginning of the year, home buyers should see historically low mortgage rates — as low as 4.75 percent — because of the federal government’s efforts to stimulate housing demand, according to news reports.

After an atrocious 2008 for home builders, permits for single-family residences in Longview shot up to 38 in December after only four were filed the previous year.

Pucci also owns Longview-based building company Newrock Homes, which filed seven permits for single-family residences in Longview in December. Business picked up last month, but over the entire year, construction was cut in half, he said.

“We’re doing whatever we have to,” Pucci said.

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allbeefnobull wrote on Jan 11, 2009 4:23 AM:

" My predictions: dec 09.... median house price of $115,000. Oil will be $111 per barrel. Seahawks will still not be in play-off's Joe Biden will President. Wall Mart will change name to "Made in China" "

IN MY OPINION wrote on Jan 11, 2009 6:33 AM:

" Don't tell the assessors office that! They will sill assess your property 45% higher than what it was before. "

feistyone wrote on Jan 11, 2009 6:40 AM:

" Wish the assessors office would read these articles. I have been arguing with them about property taxes. Of course it is only the East Kelso area that got it so bad. I think they combined a few years. "

huh? wrote on Jan 11, 2009 8:31 AM:

" Please forward this article to the Cowlitz County Assessor! "

Lucky7 wrote on Jan 11, 2009 10:00 AM:

" This is just a much needed market adjustment. Prices are still inflated and should drop further given our current economic situation. Local real estate agents will dispute this but I don't see prices bottoming out until 4th quarter 09 to 2nd quarter 10. I think we're in an era where the pool of qualified buyers has shrunk so far it's really putting pressure on the market. "

Roudyruss wrote on Jan 11, 2009 10:01 AM:

" I bet the value of an existing home goes up for the tax man. "

bmoc wrote on Jan 11, 2009 10:32 AM:

" The assessor's office told me that if your home is assessed in December 2008 then values compared to December 2007 comparables. They don't use current market conditions, but those of last year. So for the coming years, while the market is tanking, we should see drops in our assessed values? Yeah Right - they will be justifying further increases somehow, just wait. "

US CITIZEN wrote on Jan 11, 2009 11:43 AM:

" i have a small three bedroom,one bath in the st. helens district in three years they have raised my taxes 32,000 dollors.my only improvement was painting if this was the reason it will be the last time i paint my house. "

70 Sam wrote on Jan 11, 2009 12:53 PM:

" What Cowlitz County needs is a massive influx of people from California. Upon their arrival real estate values will go up like a rocket!! "

Rural Citizen wrote on Jan 11, 2009 12:57 PM:

" So HOW LONG do the people have to wait for some REAL ESTATE TAX RELIEF? It really is too high you know. I know the budget is tight for governments, but making more people loose their homes because the taxes are too high is not an answer.

Get the darn taxes down. That is not a request. It's a DEMAND. From a Liberal by the way. "

El Gabilon wrote on Jan 11, 2009 1:00 PM:

" Sellers may be pulling out of the market but better times are not in the foresable future. The first stimulus package did not work and neither will the second, third or fourth. Confidence in the system has been lost and nothing is being done to restore that confidence aside from putting our children and grandchildren further into debt. With the stroke of a pen the Congress could have solved this problem by simply requiring that all sub-prime mortgages be changed to 30 year mortgages at a rate of 6%. Instead the stimulus package was created to bail out the banks, coporations etc., and now practicialy every business has their hand out for a bail out. The wealthy of the nation are attempting to save their own wealth at the expense of the middle class. We forsee a spiraling down of the economy for at least the next five years, and a downward trend in housing prices for the same period. Six months ago we were told we were not saving enough. Now we are being told we are not spending enough. Eight years ago we had a surplus, today we are TRILLIONS in debt. The lesson to be learned for BUSINESS is that it cannot do without the middle class and they should start paying livable wages in order for money to circulate. GREED has done us all in. "

An observer wrote on Jan 11, 2009 1:56 PM:

" Lets all just knock off 20% of our tax bill, we can save the county thousands by just doing it ourselves. "

kalama river resident wrote on Jan 11, 2009 3:21 PM:

" El gabilon- Has seen the light!!! but forgot about unemployment reaching 20%. The more the government tries to help us, the worst off we become!!! "

kalama river resident wrote on Jan 11, 2009 3:31 PM:

" El Gabilon- The one part of your comment I disagree with is converting all sub-prime loans to 6%. So far over 50% of the loans that have been restructured are already in default. Those individuals should have never been allowed to own a home valued over three times their gross annual income or their payments more than 30% of their monthly net income. "

DW wrote on Jan 11, 2009 4:39 PM:

" The price of your house is not what someone tells you it is, the price is what you can for it. The government will over value your house to raise taxes on homeowners. Trouble is homeowners have mortaged themselves up the wazzu and used their house as an ATM. "

speak into the microphone wrote on Jan 11, 2009 5:13 PM:

" How can the County go by the inflated (BOGUS)appraisals when everyone knows the whole real estate bail-out and Cowlitz county assessors office is full of B.S. "

Resident wrote on Jan 12, 2009 6:06 AM:

" Thank goodness prices are dropping. Home prices have esculated way beyond what a house is worth in the past couple of years. "

crowsfeet wrote on Jan 12, 2009 9:36 AM:

" We are no longer being taxed on the value of our property, we are being taxed for the pleasure to live here or there, its become more of a Luxury Tax than an honest value tax. Its ironic that one of the countrys where the financial gap between the rich and poor is very small, France- sometimes it really takes a revolution to wake up the elite. "

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