California Wildfire Homeowners Encountering Difficulty Finding Housing

This BLOG On California Wildfire Homeowners Encountering Difficulty Finding Housing Was PUBLISHED On January 29th, 2019

The 2018 California Wildfires was the worst in U.S. History.

• It affected countless of California homeowners
• Many displaced California Wildfire Homeowners are having a difficult time finding new housing
• Countless of California Wildfire Homeowners are scrambling to find new housing
• Many California Wildfire Homeowners are facing very low housing inventory and very high home prices
• The state of California has the highest housing costs in the country

High home prices and low inventory is making the recovery that much more difficult.

Damage Of California Wildfires

Northern California’s Camp Fire in the northern part of the state has destroyed more than 13,000 homes .

• This includes the Town Of Paraside California
• The whole town of Paradise was destroyed and displaced some 52,000 people

Southern California was affected by the Woolsey Fire.

• This ravaging fire has victimized over a quarter million residents
• Many celebrities homes were affected by the Woolsey Fire
• Killing 88 people, the Woolsey Fires proved to be one of the most catastrophic disasters in history
• Many residents remain missing still to this day
• Estimated damage from the California Wildfires is initially estimated at $9 to $14 billion dollars
• The exact number of California Wildfire Homeowners victimized is yet not known

Coping With Recovery By California Wildfire Homeowners

Many California Wildfire Homeowners having a difficult time finding new housing are made homeless.

• Some find it impossible finding reasonable housing in California
• They are contemplating moving to other states where housing prices are substantially lower
• Average home prices in the United States is $258,100
• California average home prices are $572,000 in average areas

The California Wildfires affected higher-cost areas where many home prices averaged $800,000.

Homeless California Wildfire Homeowners

There are countless California Wildfire Homeowners.

• Numbers are in the thousands
• Many homeowners find it very difficult in finding new housing due to California’s expensive housing markets
• Add that to low inventory, it is a formula to homelessness
• Showings in listed homes near the Woolsey and Camp Fires have seen higher than average showings
• Areas in Butte County California has seen a 100% increase after the wildfires than prior to the fires
• Butte County California was one of the areas affected by Northern California’s Camp Fires
• The fires spiked home listings by almost 90% weeks after the fire in Butte County California

This is good news for homeowners who were not affected by the Camp Fire and were contemplating selling their homes. Ventura County California has seen a spike in showings after the fires than before the fire. 

California Housing Market

Some good news for California Wildfire Homeowners is that the housing market in some neighboring counties affected by wildfires has slowed.

• Home sales have been lagging compared to the rest of the country
• Listings of homes have been increasing due to many California homeowners leaving the state due to high home prices, high taxes, and political chaos among the Democrats
• There are 30% more homes listed throughout the state of California than the same time last year
• California Wildfire Homeowners may not be able to purchase a home in the wildfire affect area but have available homes in nearby counties
• Sacramento is one of the areas that is affected by the Camp Fire
• The area has over 30% less inventory of listed homes than a year ago, according to data from the California Association of Realtors.

California’s median home price for existing homes throughout the state is $572,000. This is double the national median home price of $258,100.

California’s emigrants aren’t all moving to cheaper housing markets.As mentioned earlier, many are leaving the state altogether.

Will Housing Demand By California Wildfire Homeowners Spike Home Prices

The housing demand by California Wildfire Homeowners may have an impact on housing prices in the areas affected.

• However, many California residents are leaving the state due to high state taxes, property values, cost of living, constant wildfires, and political chaos
• Some Californians consider California home and will never leave the state
• Those leaving and the demand on housing creates an equilibrium where it stabilized California home values
• Many who lost their homes are living with family and friend while shopping for homes
• Others are living in motels, hotels, and/or their RV’s

As with any product, services, merchandise, prices go up if demand is high. Prices drop if demand is low. Need to take into account Californians leaving the state for good.

Home Prices Affect In Fire Affected Areas 

The two fire-affected areas and surrounding counties will see an impact on rising home values. 

• Listed homes in Butte County Areas has 50% fewer listed homes now than prior to wildfires destroyed homes
• As of today, there were only 345 homes listed

California Wildfire Homeowners who got their insurance checks are either buying homes cash and/or putting substantial down payments.

Constant National Disasters And Wildfires Causing Residents To Leave California

 Some California Wildfire Homeowners who received their insurance claims are contemplating whether or not to rebuild in California.

• Wildfires and other national disasters are common in California
• Many residents are leaving California or were thinking of leaving the state prior to these two disastrous fires
• Now with losing everything, many Californians are thinking of relocating to different states where homes are half the price
• Many states like Texas, Nevada, and Florida has no state income taxes
• Most states have lower property taxes than California

More than 1 million people left the state between 2007 and 2017. This was due mainly to higher housing costs and the cost of living. Wildfires are now another concern.

Affect On Homeowners Insurance

Insurance companies do not like losing money.

• Many homeowners insurance companies will either not insure wildfire areas or increase premiums to such high levels that nobody could afford to live there
• There may be major changes in building codes
• May require homes to use fire-resistant materials and high-cost sprinkler systems which will add to cost of construction
• Many senior homeowners relied on the equity in their homes as part for their retirement
• Homeowners do not recover all of their loses by their insurance providers
• Many elderly homeowners will most likely take their insurance money and move to an area where housing is more affordable
•  

25% of the homeowners of fire-ravaged Paradise California were homeowners who were 65 years or older.

Many Residents Migrate To Other States Due To Wildfires

Gustan Cho Associates is a national lender with no overlays on government and conventional loans. We are licensed in California and have seen the impact of California Wildfires on homeowners and home buyers. We have also seen many residents leave California to purchase in other states. Top states California homeowners relocate to are the following:

• Texas
• Florida
• Mississippi
• Kentucky
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• New Jersey
• Colorado
• Illinois

Yet for other Californians, moving out of the state is not an option. California is home to them and will always be home. Stay tuned for mortgage real estate and mortgage news from Gustan Cho Associates Mortgage News.