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Old 04-16-2007, 12:47 AM
 
17 posts, read 111,767 times
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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.
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Old 04-16-2007, 09:54 AM
 
1 posts, read 5,641 times
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Default Good time to buy

Now is a good time to buy with interest rates still being low. Lenders are starting to make changes to loan programs and it maybe more difficult to obtain a loan depending on your financial situation.

You mentioned Irvine is a little too expensive so you may want to look at Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills as they are close to Irvine. Most areas in these cities are older homes and tax rates will be lower as well as the home prices.
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Old 04-17-2007, 11:24 AM
 
Location: Brooklyn, ny
174 posts, read 311,720 times
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I grew up in Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo... I think the cheaper areas like the person above mentioned would be Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills...possibly El Toro/Lake Forest...because they are older... I still think home prices are ridiculous though... I grew up there but there's no way I could afford to live there for at least another 10 years (College student) unless i want to live with my dad forever...ha ha. Best of luck!!
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Old 04-17-2007, 09:15 PM
 
3,853 posts, read 12,863,253 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanL View Post
Now is a good time to buy with interest rates still being low. Lenders are starting to make changes to loan programs and it maybe more difficult to obtain a loan depending on your financial situation.

You mentioned Irvine is a little too expensive so you may want to look at Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills as they are close to Irvine. Most areas in these cities are older homes and tax rates will be lower as well as the home prices.
now is not a good time to buy. Have you seen the run up in real estate prices in the last 10 years? It isn't going to last forever. You note that the loan programs are tightening their standards - that is a bad sign! If loans are getting harder to obtain people cannot buy homes and if homes are not being bought then inventory increases and when inventory increases home prices go down! Personally I would wait a couple years to buy. Rent a CHEAP place - invest the money elsewhere, save for a large down payment. You will be better off.

Right now we are in the, "invetory increasing" section. For Orange County - prices have declined 6.4% in the last year and inventory has increased 24% in the last year. What does that tell you? Great time to buy - yea right!

http://www.housingtracker.net/asking...Anaheim-Irvine
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Old 04-17-2007, 09:34 PM
 
4 posts, read 18,648 times
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its never a bad time to buy a home you intend to live in for 3 years or more with at least 10% down. buying a home isn't like stock...you need it to live in so it is always a decent investment. inventory always goes up in the spring/summer thats when people move. sure it isn't an all out bidding war like before, but this is normal real estate...some highs some lows. just like gas will never be 99 cents again, a home in oc will never be 250k again. it may go down, but nothing you can't recoup just by living in it a few years. so what if you're stuck there...at least you are stuck in a home you own. p.s. get a good loan and good luck!
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Old 04-17-2007, 10:25 PM
 
3,853 posts, read 12,863,253 times
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QUOTE=pinkleopard;592625]its never a bad time to buy a home you intend to live in for 3 years or more with at least 10% down. buying a home isn't like stock...you need it to live in so it is always a decent investment. inventory always goes up in the spring/summer thats when people move. sure it isn't an all out bidding war like before, but this is normal real estate...some highs some lows. just like gas will never be 99 cents again, a home in oc will never be 250k again. it may go down, but nothing you can't recoup just by living in it a few years. so what if you're stuck there...at least you are stuck in a home you own. p.s. get a good loan and good luck![/quote]

My statistics were from April 2006-April 2007 so the spring/summer moving more homes are for sale than last spring (+3,358 to be exact). Yes it is a bad time to buy now, regardless if you plan to live in the home for 3 years or 20 years. It is never a good idea to buy at the peak of a RE bubble. You are taking it for granted that RE goes up in value over the long term WHEN IT DOES NOT! The only thing RE beats is inflation and that should not be confused with wealth creation. The only reason you are saying that RE goes up in the long term is because for the last 10 years we have seen consistent appreciation. Look at this chart, do you think that appreciation is normal? You are living in a fantasy world if you do.



According to that picture, homes are overvalued approximately 99 points! That means a 600k home should really be worth 300k. Any decline or increase has ultimately - over the long term returned to the range of 90-110 point level and I personally believe this current RE bubble will return to normal levels. The speed at the decline really depends on what the fed does. Lower interest rates = slower decline (maybe even more appreciation), higher rates = faster decline. I think it will correct itself in the next ten years. Also my statistics are considering that RE depreciation will have no affect on the US economy which it will have, a negative effect!
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Old 04-17-2007, 11:02 PM
 
4 posts, read 18,648 times
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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.
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Old 04-21-2007, 07:50 PM
 
7 posts, read 28,276 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by sassy168 View Post
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.
yep prices have dropped, if you find you like now is the best time.
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Old 04-23-2007, 06:05 PM
 
1,868 posts, read 5,680,464 times
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I agree with you killer 2021. Not everyone in the OC is rich Pinkleopard.....look at the rise in foreclosures.
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Old 04-23-2007, 10:37 PM
 
Location: Berkeley, CA
662 posts, read 1,281,053 times
Reputation: 938
Quote:
Originally Posted by sassy168 View Post
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.
IMO, I would just wait and see what happens to the housing market. The prices have been leveling off and it's taking much longer for houses to sell.
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