Real estate market is ridiculous right now!!!

[RCCCB]

Originally Posted by ducviloxi

Trying to find a 3bd, 2ba in Orange, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Brea or Fullerton in the $300,000-350,000 range and looks like 90% of the listings - decent or not are already in "backup offers" or "pending".

When a home is in pending state what are the chances that the offer will fall through in this market given loan qualification guidelines are so strict?

Why is there so little inventory when just a year ago I was finding loads of homes for sale? Are they all sold already?

There are boatloads of homes above $500k but very very few below $400k!

Because the inventory is being kept off the market.
The banks use FUTURE VALUE on the books to make it look like their 250k home is worth 800k still for their investors. They are either leaving them empty or renting them.

There are other groups that are just block selling the homes to rich investors that have pulled their money together.

Lots of mischief going in IMO.

[Coldjensens]

If you are looking in the 300,0000 - $350,000 range, you are going to find mostly junk and condos (junk IMO). It appears that is where you are looking and that is what you are finding. Not a big surprise. Kick your search up to at least $450,000 and you will find more decent homes. Maybe you can find one to lowball.

[ragnarkar]

*yawn* old news.. real estate in S. California has always been ridiculous.

P.S. I might consider buying in Whittier in a few years.. at least its central location might make it unnecessary to move whenever changing jobs from within the Southland.. and i take it from the tone of your post the housing prices are more reasonable there.

[ducviloxi]

@ragnarkar

not really, a friend of mine bought his home in a prime area in Irvine for $336k in 1996. It went all the way upto $1.2 million during the peak of the bubble and is still appraised at over $800k. The funny thing is that his income has increased only 10% from 1996 through 2012.

The above is an example that can be applied to a wide range of neighborhoods in LA - from Cerritos to Yorba Linda to Orange...it's the same story, most of the homes are still way above even their 2000 levels. However, incomes have really remained stagnant while the cost of living has gone way up.

Real estate professionals frequently tout affordability...compared to what? compared to the bubble it is cheaper but compared to historical affordability metrics definitely not.

[flo2900]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Actually, I do have access to an MLS login. Its been a few months since I looked but there were ton of short sales in the under $600k segment. I'm sure things are a little better in Newport Beach though.

That's what I was saying. You have not checked MLS in a while.

[flo2900]

Originally Posted by Charles

How much different would redfin be from "the professional Realtor's MLS"?

Amateur sites just don't always update.

[EscapeCalifornia]

O.C. distressed properties for sale at 5-year low - Lansner on Real Estate : The Orange County Register

29% of the listings under $500k are distressed.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by flo2900

Amateur sites just don't always update.

That's complete BS. The Redfin website is only 2-3 hours behind any MLS updates. You do know that Redfin is a credible, and popular online brokerage with full MLS access, right?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ducviloxi

@ragnarkar

not really, a friend of mine bought his home in a prime area in Irvine for $336k in 1996. It went all the way upto $1.2 million during the peak of the bubble and is still appraised at over $800k. The funny thing is that his income has increased only 10% from 1996 through 2012.

Interest rates were higher in 1996. The income of homeowners is irrelevant. It's the income of buyers that determines prices.

[Kandy]

You can make back-up offers on the homes you are interested in. It's more difficult to get a mortgage than it used to be so they do sometimes fall through. We had some friends that had an offer pending on a home and they were denied the loan because it was a second home for them.