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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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.