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Thursday, April 27, 2017 - May 3, 2017
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Affordability: Looming Issue for Local Housing Market
Increase in interest rates and tapering prices make great incentives for buyers, for now.
The AAR sees affordability as a problem causing a decline in sales; a boost from the rise in interest rates will not last. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
T
he Arcadia Association of Realtors (AAR) says the housing market for spring had a strong start to the year. “California’s spring housing market posted a strong start to the year as ex-
isting home sales and median price registered healthy gains in March on both a monthly and annual basis, as did every major region in the state,” the AAR said recently. This is good news for
the housing market after the slump in home prices in 2016, composed of many listings with price cuts. Along with the slump in sales the last few months, the AAR expected a decline for March.
“March’s pending sales decline is the greatest so far this year, portending sales activity in the usually busy spring home buying season will be dampened, primarily due to demand outstripping
Arcadia High School made another exceptional showing in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program, with 25 Apaches named as National Merit
Scholarship Finalists. This is the 24th consecutive year that Arcadia High School has had over 85 percent of its students advance from semifinalists to finalists in this renowned pro-
gram. Students honored each year by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) represent less than one percent of high school
seniors in the United States. The 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program had approximately 1.6 million juniors from more than 22,000 high schools to consider at
the supply of active listings, which was 12 percent lower than in March a year ago,” according to the AAR. According to Zillow, a real estate website, Arcadia has a “cold” temperature reading. This “temperature reading” makes this market favorable to buyers rather than the sellers due to the drop in prices for Arcadian listings, which occur in one-tenth of listings in Arcadia. However, due to a hike in interest rates and the steady increase in housing prices, something different came in March. “March’s solid sales performance was likely influenced by the specter of higher interest rates, which may have pushed buyers off the sidelines and close escrow before rates moved higher,” said AAR President, Sylvia Ramos. “The strong housing demand, coupled with a shortage of available homes for sale, is pushing prices higher as would-be buyers try to purchase before affordability gets worse.” Last March signaled the third time since the end of the 2008 financial crisis the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. These rates increase the cost of borrowing which is a factor that can influence when SEE PAGE 10
25 Arcadia High Students Named National Merit Scholarship Finalists the onset of this year’s program. From these entrants, the NMSC recognized about 50,000 academically talented SEE PAGE 10
historic homes tour
Sunday, May 7, 2017 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
COMPLIMENTARY COPY VOLUME 21, NO. 17
Arcadia Measure A: Reflecting on the Journey to Passage BY BRANDON CHEN AND SANDI KHINE AUSD DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERNS
In the week before the March 7 election, "Yes on Measure A" campaign volunteers and supporters underwent the final push to secure Measure A's passage. This measure seeks to generate locally-controlled funding through a parcel tax that is exclusively used for teachers' salaries and educational programs. Voters approved a parcel of this kind in 2012, which will expire in July 2017. As such, Arcadia Unified sought to re-establish a parcel tax to secure funding for its schools. The current measure will raise the 2012 parcel tax from $228 per parcel to $288 per parcel. Additionally, the 2017 parcel tax will last for 18 years, preventing the layoffs of 28 teachers and three counselors. On March 7, tension, agitation, nervousness, and excitement filled one house on Hacienda Drive. On the final night of the Measure A campaign, volunteers, including those from the Arcadia Educational Foundation, teachers, officials, and parents, congregated to make compelling final phone calls to voters all over Arcadia to urge them to cast their ballots and vote "Yes SEE PAGE 10
www.mohpg.org