California's Mortgage Loan Market The California housing market, while cooling down somewhat over the past year, still helped drive job growth in the state. Much of this growth was in the mortgage industry, as well as the construction industry. In fact, real estate agencies and mortgage loan companies added nearly 1500 jobs in November of 2005. However, in San Diego county, the mortgage industry lost workers as financial and loan companies are finding it difficult to maintain the job levels that existed during the boom market of the past five years. This is a trend that many analysts say will continue, especially in once red hot real estate markets such as San Diego and Phoenix. California Real Estate Market Many economic analysts, while hopeful about the job growth in November, are worried about the real estate sector. If real estate companies and construction companies continue to shed jobs over the coming year, it will certainly have an effect on the number of jobs in the state, as well as the strength of the economy. San Diego's Previously Strong Market San Diegos strong market can be accredited to the areas recent trends, including job growth, low vacancy rates, and a decrease in apartment supply. Real estate experts maintain that alongside Miami, San Diego is the only metro area in the country where the supply of apartments is declining. Apartments are inherently converted into condos faster than new ones are being built. This fact, juxtaposed with a growing population, may cause the vacancy rates to become even lower, leading to a further increase in demand for condos in San Diego. Another facet that bolsters the strength of the San Diego market is the number of investors that are buying condos, both natural and converted, some of which will end up reappearing back onto the rental market. |
