Orestimba Creek Feasibility Study - Stanislaus County

Economics Appendix – Draft Report - Orestimba Creek Feasibility Study, Stanislaus County, California – September 2012
home for the same price,' " says John Walsh, the president of DataQuick. Although this
trend increased real estate demand in Merced, prices appreciated even faster as exotic
mortgage products and investor interest hit the market.
Area home prices jumped nearly 129 percent from 2002 to 2006. But after the euphoria
subsided, home prices crashed more than 72 percent through the third quarter of 2009.
This rapid deflation dragged about 64 percent of single-family home mortgages
underwater by the fourth quarter of 2009, according to Zillow. Walsh says it could be 10
to 20 years before Merced home prices reach former peak levels.
Source: Luke Mullens, US News and World Report, dated March 19, 2010.
As shown in Figure 1, the median price of homes sold in Newman reached a peak of over
$400,000 in the first quarter of 2006. Within 3 years the median price of homes sold had
dropped to about $125,000. The price level appears to have bottomed and is expected to
stabilize or increase over the next 3 to 5 years.
Table 4. Single-family new house construction building permits:
1996: 0 buildings
1997: 22 buildings, average cost: $87,500
1998: 76 buildings, average cost: $115,000
1999: 90 buildings, average cost: $120,200
2000: 27 buildings, average cost: $123,900
2001: 17 buildings, average cost: $140,400
2002: 106 buildings, average cost: $132,800
2003: 180 buildings, average cost: $150,300
2004: 350 buildings, average cost: $168,700
2005: 147 buildings, average cost: $204,500
2006: 65 buildings, average cost: $210,200
2007: 113 buildings, average cost: $222,100
2008: 6 buildings, average cost: $101,500
2009: 6 buildings, average cost: $198,000
2010: 6 buildings, average cost: 192,200
Source: City-Data.com/Newman
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