Home for sale in stockton california - Foreclosure - View Stockton homes

Too few economic bright sides

19.05.12

It was a sobering revelation.

The house across the street from my home had sold for $115,000. That would be roughly a 70 percent decrease in property values in my neighborhood.

It is another stark - and, for me, a bit too close for comfort - example of how property values have fallen in Stockton, the bursting of the housing bubble and the downturn of the economy.

I thought of a former neighbor of mine when I lived in Sacramento who tapped into the equity in his home to fund improvements - a sunroom, a pool, a patio. Those funds have surely dried up by now.

According to Zillow, a real estate information website, houses in Stockton that once were listed at more than $400,000 now list for one-third that amount.

Many homeowners need good scuba gear just to handle how far underwater they are on their homes (meaning they owe more on their home than it is worth).

Source: Stockton Record