Down real estate market??... NO WAY!! (Los Angeles, San Francisco: coupons, 2010, rental)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Panks

4 OFFERS IN 2 DAYS. It till shows as active because the agents use old listings as lures to get people to call, but its definitely sold.

Its just incredible how some people act like every house is the same..like you are buying a box of detergent. There are a hundred things that can make one house better than another and its not just price.


20934 DE MINA STREET, Woodland Hills, CA 91364**

Beds: 4 Type: SFR Sq. Ft.: 2,083 Lot Size: 9,879 Sq. Ft. MLS #: F1769457
Baths: 2/0 Built: 1952 $/Sq.Ft.: $269 List Date: 06/02/08 On Market: 24 days

List Price: $559,900
Estimated Monthly Payment: $2,685
ZipRealty will give you up to $3,359 cash back.*

Photo will be emailed as soon as it's available

Description
Bank owned! South of the blvd! Great neighborhood and street! Large lot, mostly flat! Single level with great floorplan. Rv or boat access to backyard! Hardwood floors! Large bonus room could be used as 4th bedroom! Tax rolls show only 3 bedrooms.

From Dataquick, Median Sales Price Zip 91364

91364: WOODLAND HILLS
Median sale price
May 2007 May 2008 Change
$820,000 $630,000 -23.2%



Yes way.

[karkyco]

Originally Posted by Panks

4 OFFERS IN 2 DAYS. It till shows as active because the agents use old listings as lures to get people to call, but its definitely sold.

Its just incredible how some people act like every house is the same..like you are buying a box of detergent. There are a hundred things that can make one house better than another and its not just price.


20934 DE MINA STREET, Woodland Hills, CA 91364**

Beds: 4 Type: SFR Sq. Ft.: 2,083 Lot Size: 9,879 Sq. Ft. MLS #: F1769457
Baths: 2/0 Built: 1952 $/Sq.Ft.: $269 List Date: 06/02/08 On Market: 24 days

List Price: $559,900
Estimated Monthly Payment: $2,685
ZipRealty will give you up to $3,359 cash back.*

Photo will be emailed as soon as it's available

Description
Bank owned! South of the blvd! Great neighborhood and street! Large lot, mostly flat! Single level with great floorplan. Rv or boat access to backyard! Hardwood floors! Large bonus room could be used as 4th bedroom! Tax rolls show only 3 bedrooms.

Yeah, 4 offers because it's listed at 40% off its last sale price near the peak of the market. You don't think that a 40% price cut in 2 years is the sign of a down market? . Sales history on the property taken from redfin.

[SIZE=3]Sales History[/SIZE]


[SIZE=3]Property Tax[/SIZE]


DatePriceAppreciationJun 25, 1999 $318,000 --
Sep 09, 2004 $660,000 15.0%/yr
Jun 09, 2005 $830,000 35.9%/yr
Apr 28, 2006 $925,000 13.0%/yr

[greggd]

Originally Posted by Panks

OK, I admit I'm feeling frustrated because I've tried to bid on 8 houses in 2 months!

5 of them got an offer THE DAY before I saw it and tried to put in an offer. 2 of them were on the market over 220 days, but the second I looked at it...BOOM

The point of this post is to say except for the 2 listings that were very old, all the other houses I wanted sold in LESS THAN A WEEK!! It got to where I pressured my agent to show me the house the day it came on the market!

So, as far as I can tell, the market (at least in LA) is hopping!

What are you guys seeing out there?

Prices in the San Fernando Valley have dropped and inventory increased. When I first read your thread I thought your were referring to West LA, but your talking about the Valley.... that's a different story entirely.

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by greggd

Prices in the San Fernando Valley have dropped and inventory increased. When I first read your thread I thought your were referring to West LA, but your talking about the Valley.... that's a different story entirely.

Yup. The valley has experienced lots of depreciation. Long Beach is worse. The IE...ouch. Like I said earlier, the prime neighborhoods have experienced little or no depreciation and in some cases have appreciated. The neighborhoods can, in some cases (South Pas vs. Highland Park) be right next to each other. Generally (not always) the worse the neighborhood, the bigger the hit.

[Jannergangs]

Originally Posted by Panks

You think I'm a realtor and I'm trying through this one thread on this forum to convince people to start buying? Or maybe all the realtors in the US got together and are posting threads! Its a damn conspiracy!because THERE ARE ALWAYS PEOPLE WHO HAVE MONEY. Capish?

I personally find his remarks compelling. As for your comments I really wouldn't put it past realtors. They can be the equivalent of Used Car Salesmen with how the housing market has gone and continues to go.

Just by judging from what's happening in Florida with it's garbage Condo Market
Daily Business Review: Association_trns_tables
"Condo associations that are in a financial bind from mounting foreclosures are now targeting lenders who have taken back units from owners in default but are themselves failing to pay their share of maintenance fees."

As well as repeating a pattern of larger than previously announced writeoffs prevalent in the entire financial sector, AIG absorbs 5 billion on securities lending.

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
"The world's largest insurer will assume as much as $5 billion of any losses on sales of the investments, up from a previous commitment of $500 million, said Christopher Swift, vice president for life and retirement services, in an interview. AIG also will inject an undisclosed amount of capital into some of the subsidiaries, he said."

Only time will tell what will happen here in Los Angeles. People here don't earn as much as you hope they do. With rising unemployment and massive losses amongst even the elite, I sure wish I had your blind optimism.

[Panks]

Originally Posted by karkyco

You don't think that a 40% price cut in 2 years is the sign of a down market?

*sigh* if you read my entire post Sybil...err..I mean Karkyko..I am saying that the houses I have been looking at are selling like hotcakes so it doesn't feel like its a down market!

I know the &#@%* prices have dropped..thank God they have because thats the only reason I can afford to buy now.

No one has a crystal ball. Prices may continue to fall in the area I am looking to buy, or they may not. For me, at this point in my life, its more important to have a place I can come home to, that is mine (and the banks) than it is to wait and possibly save on the price.

[sheri257]

This is a major problem. I've run into this myself, not in LA but on the Central Coast. Yeah ... prices are falling but, good luck actually getting one of these deals because everybody comes out of the woodwork to bid on them.

It's a Catch22 and I'm not sure what it means because while the market technically sucks you're also competing with a lot of bargain hunters out there.

Falling prices don't mean much if you can't actually get the deal ... and this is happening a lot.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Jannergangs

Only time will tell what will happen here in Los Angeles. People here don't earn as much as you hope they do. With rising unemployment and massive losses amongst even the elite, I sure wish I had your blind optimism.

Sounds like things are going to go from bad to worse. Not just in LA, but everywhere, with LA probably getting hit the hardest: so dependent on automobiles, so few with enough left over to save for retirement, so many maxed out on credit.



Cluster**** Nation by Jim Kunstler

Retirement crisis: From bad to worse - MSN Money

The end of the superbubble - MSN Money

[timelesschild]

Originally Posted by Charles

Sounds like things are going to go from bad to worse. Not just in LA, but everywhere, with LA probably getting hit the hardest: so dependent on automobiles, so few with enough left over to save for retirement, so many maxed out on credit.



Cluster**** Nation by Jim Kunstler

Retirement crisis: From bad to worse - MSN Money

The end of the superbubble - MSN Money

Not a pretty sight. Thanks for sending those along. I've been concerned about the non-disciplined labor force for a while, and a couple of these articles mention that as well. I sincerely hope that they are wrong, but they make a lot of sense.

[Charles]

"PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., the primary U.S. subsidiary of The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE: PMI), today released its Summer 2008 U.S. Market Risk Index(SM), which ranks the nation's 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) according to the likelihood that home prices will be lower in two years.....

The highest risk of future price declines remains in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (95.5),....


The areas with the lowest risk of price declines are in Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX, [Denver, CO]....."

from

The PMI Group, Summer 2008 Risk Index