It's not surprising that eight of the ten towns with the strongest house price appreciation over the last 12 months are in California. After all, it is the Golden State.

But it may come as something of a shock to learn that two California markets also were at the bottom of the heap.

According to the latest House Price Index as reported by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Visalia-Tulare-Porterville ranked dead last of the 180 markets studied. And Bakersfield was 177th.

House values actually fell in both places in the second quarter 2.6 percent in Visalia and 0.9 percent in Bakersfield.

At the other end of the price spectrum, however, it's another story entirely. Prices in San Jose rose 25 percent to lead the pack, followed by 23.3 percent in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, 22.4 percent in Salinas, 20.8 percent in Santa Rosa, 20.6 percent in San Francisco and 20.4 percent in Oakland.

The other two fastest growing California markets were San Luis Obispo and Vallejo, both at 16.2 percent.

The only two places in the top ten that were not in the Golden State are Banstable-Yarmouth, Mass., at 17.1 percent and Denver at 15.4 percent.

OFHEO's quarterly house price index tracks average house price changes in repeat sales or refinancing on the same single-family properties. The agency is the financial safety and soundness regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government chartered enterprises charged with bringing liquidity to the mortgage market.

Another surprising finding in the latest report is that four states out raced California in the appreciation sweepstakes.

Indeed, Massachusetts was No. 1 with an annual house price growth rate of 13.7 percent. And another New England state, New Hampshire, was second at 12.5 percent. Colorado at 11.8 percent was third, Minnesota fourth at 10.8 percent, while California was fifth at 10.1 percent.

Only one other "state" recorded double-digit appreciation the District of Columbia, at 10.1 percent. Utah and North Dakota saw only 0.7 percent increases in their average prices, but no state reported a decline.

Another shocker? Over the last five years, California was bested not by just four other states in terms of appreciation but by six.

In California, the price of the same house rose 32.4 percent. But Massachusetts (44.9 percent), Colorado (44.4 percent), Michigan (43 percent), Minnesota (40.8 percent), New Hampshire (39.5 percent) and Georgia (33.8 percent) were all higher.

What was that about go west, my boy, go west?

Published: September 6, 2000

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