Third-quarter report shows valley housing market is still in trouble

Lots of new housing data is out, and none of it looks good for the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Home prices are down. Foreclosures remain high. Rents are flat. House construction is virtually non-existent.

Third-quarter reports from assorted sources confirm the housing crisis isn't over.

In Stanislaus County, more than 25,000 homes have been lost to foreclosure during the past five years. That includes 1,003 homes repossessed by lenders this July, August and September, according to DataQuick.

During those three months, an additional 1,491 Stanislaus County homeowners received mortgage default notices,which is the first step in the foreclosure process.

As banks repossess and resell foreclosures, home prices plunge because distressed properties flood the market.

Stanislaus' median home sales price dropped to $128,000 in September. That's about the same price homes were selling for in spring 2000, DataQuick statistics show.

Stanislaus median home prices have been bouncing between $125,000 and $140,000 since early 2009. That's a far cry from the $396,000 median price county homes hit in December 2005, which was the peak of the region's housing boom.

The region was flush with new home construction during the boom. In 2005, for example, Stanislaus County issued 4,488 single-family home building permits. Less than 100 permits have been issued so far this year, according to the Construction Industry Research Board. That's about a 98 percent drop.

Apartment rental rates, meanwhile, have remained flat for five years in Modesto, according to RealFacts research. The average asking apartment rent in Modesto was $800 this July, August and September, compared to an average $806 per month during 2006.

The good news, if there is any, is how relatively affordable Stanislaus housing has become.

California's median home sales price was $249,000 last month, which was nearly double what those buying in Stanislaus paid. San Francisco's median was $613,750, nearly five times the cost of a home in Stanislaus County.

California's average apartment rent last quarter was $1,446, close to double the rent in Modesto. San Francisco renters paid an average $2,572 per month, more than triple what Modesto renters paid.

Bee staff writer J.N. Sbranti can be reached at jnsbranti@modbee.com or (209) 578-2196.