buying a home in OC...

[killer2021]

Watch this and you will really see what is happening:

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/317/index.html

[BrentusMaximus]

cool, by the time I'm ready to buy a house in 5-7 years in OC, the market may be a lot more believable.

[bigdaddy5]

My house is up for sale in San Diego. When it's sold we're going to rent until things improve, then we'll back in the market to buy again. Best to wait until the "storm" is over.

bd5

[RAMFEB31]

Originally Posted by pinkleopard

yes home prices will go down considerably in some markets but you forget we are talking about o.c. here. lots of people with lots of money. it is not unusual for people to own multiple muilti-million dollar homes. this place is not chump change. almost every couple i know is making over $200k with loads of inheritance. they are buying $800k and up homes. and the asians are loaded and buying property, not to mention the foreign investors. a correction is due but the bubble won't burst. do you honestly think homes will drop 1/2 their prices? that would collapse our economy. remember affordability still hasn't affected nyc or san francisco. limited land=steady prices. the working poor are here in oc like in those cities. many will never own due to prices unfortunately. ignore whether home prices are going up. buy and live in your home and take the tax break. don't buy a home to make money...thats always the wrong reason.

Pinkl" U and I must be living in a different world. Yes, there are some rich Aisians around just like there are rich Germans, Irish, Italian and etc. Like the guy who in the distant past, advertise for one of the stock brokerage firm, " we earned it". Big inheritance?? Yes there are some of them floating around. But even in O.C, the chance that happening is more rarer than U think. It is more common to have something more modest. Say something closer to a few thousand? As for the housing market in S. Ca. and especially in O.C., that where U and I do have some common ground. It does not seem logical for home prices to retreat by 50%. But then, it is not logical for homes to go up by 100% so quickly either.

[RAMFEB31]

Originally Posted by sassy168

1...is it a good time to buy now? I heard prices are dropping, but how long should i wait?

2. Where is a good place to buy a home in OC? I got married recently and i am looking to buy a home to live..and i am considering Irvine (for the good school districts and location) but its too expensive now. What do you guys think of HB, FV, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo homes for families? Right now there are too many options...

any suggestions is appreciated.

Unfortunately, Irvine, which U feel is out of your price range, is one of the very desireable area to live w/good top schools. U may wish to try a condo/townhouse in that area for a few years since they are not selling well in these times which means there should be plenty on the market. Of course, condos do not have the same appreciation value as a single family even in good times. But U have to start somewhere. Have U checked the Laguna Niguel areas for condos? Certain areas in Orange is ok if you can be in the Villa Park School District. Even Anaheim Hills is passible There are plenty of condo types there. When to buy? Yes, the housing market seem to be in a down trend but if U need a home and going to stay put for awhile and can afford it, why not look now at least to get a feel before plunging. The buyer w/cash have the advantage at this time. The seller or broker may laugh at your "low ball" offer but there are a lot more homes for sale than there are buyers at this time. Go to Zillow.Com to get some hint of the value. The service is free. Good Luck!!

[5FLgirls]

Hi. Moving from Florida to OC next month and we are definitely going to rent. Although I would really love to own my own home and feel that sense of permanence, we were hit by the RE bubble here. We put our very desirable home on the market in SFL last year and it took 14 months to sell for 250K below asking price. At the same time (14 months), we purchased at the height of the market in NFL and our home is on the market for the same price we bought it at, praying that we finally break even on one of these homes. It doesn't take much to lose money on a home.

Someone wrote that you should just bite the bullet and buy but when you're purchasing a $1M home and put 10% down and the market decreases by another 10%, you just lost your $100K down payment. I don't know about most people but it takes us awhile to save $100K. We are going to watch the market for at least 1 year and see where it goes. It says something when you tell a realtor that you want to look at $1M homes and she shows you $1.5M with the explanation that people are taking much much less and we have a chance to own in the higher price range. What does that say????