The market in Southern California is HOT! (appraised, foreclosures, agent)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Its burning... I was browsing through their listings and EVERY SINGLE house/condo I clicked on said "Pending" or "Back up offer"... I did not see one place no matter how trashy or broken down it was that was available... whats going on in Southern Cali? I have never seen so many "Pending" sales in my life...
High unemployment
Lots of short sales
Lots of foreclosures
Increased taxes
Teachers getting cut
Serious, unsolvable traffic problems
Serious, unsolvable immigration problems
Major corporations' HQ leaving California
5:1 median home price to median income ratios
....all lead to reduced demand, lowered prices, and subsequent sale activity be professional investors and people who were previously priced out and aren't necessarily affected as much by the above list.
My best friend and her dh had to let their house go... it appraised for over $400k in late 2006. When they put it on the market in late '07, it sat and the price slowly went down. They were listed at $249k when the house next door sold for $199k (short sale) in early 2009. The realtor advised them to take it off the market and many realtors in the past 6-12 months were refusing to take new listings.
Its burning... I was browsing through their listings and EVERY SINGLE house/condo I clicked on said "Pending" or "Back up offer"... I did not see one place no matter how trashy or broken down it was that was available... whats going on in Southern Cali? I have never seen so many "Pending" sales in my life...
Whose listings?
While inventory is low, there are TONS of trash listings in So Cal that have been sitting for a very long time.
Certain areas have had an uptick in listings.
Certain areas are being manipulated and have almost no listings.
EvilNewbie, I too saw what you are seeing...of course that was when I was browsing up to a certain dollar value which would only include properties somewhat closer to market value (still overpriced for the most part). When I would remove the price cap, I would see triple the inventory, with 2/3rds of it vastly overpriced and just sitting, with no "sale pending" or "taking backup offers" on those.
It's mainly the pull forward demand thanks to the federal tax credit. I'm already seeing quite a few new (or re-listed) properties come on the market in the past week and a half that are substantially lower in price (>10% less than pre-May 1).
The under 190k in the area I was looking at does not exist anywhere. I purchased my home under 190k in November and that was when it was getting really tough. I was beyond lucky to get it too. The selling agent said I didn't even have the highest offer but the bank liked mine the best for whatever reason. He said there were around 75 offers on the home.
All I know from looking at MLS listings just yesterday, the IE market has improved greatly since last year. It very well might be inflated but if its inflated now before the summer starts...what happens when it begins?
Yeah, I was looking at under 300k... over that, I didn't look... but I was surprised to see really crappy places that were pending... I mean they were REALLY crappy but after seeing so many crappy homes pending, I was surprise they were moving so fast... don't know about homes over 300k though...
Yeah, I was looking at under 300k... over that, I didn't look... but I was surprised to see really crappy places that were pending... I mean they were REALLY crappy but after seeing so many crappy homes pending, I was surprise they were moving so fast... don't know about homes over 300k though...
Well under 300K in SoCal, of course it's been moving. Anyone with a pulse can qualify for a 3.5% down FHA loan (and use the $8K "instant rebate" fed tax credit to cover most of that 3.5%, effectively once again having no skin in the game...since we learned NOTHING!!!).
You should see the "low priced" crap in the high end markets that did the same thing - because it is/was priced "low" relative to 05-08 prices, within the final weeks of the federal credit expiring ALL of the lowest 33% of the market in those areas were "pending" "back up offers" etc.
But the delusionally priced stuff, usually 10-25% off peak pricing (at best) and some still at peak pricing or beyond, has sat for years now.
Don't limit your search to $300K and I'm sure you will see PLENTY of stuff in the areas you are looking at that is just sitting rotting in the California sun.
EvilNewbie, I too saw what you are seeing...of course that was when I was browsing up to a certain dollar value which would only include properties somewhat closer to market value (still overpriced for the most part). When I would remove the price cap, I would see triple the inventory, with 2/3rds of it vastly overpriced and just sitting, with no "sale pending" or "taking backup offers" on those.
It's mainly the pull forward demand thanks to the federal tax credit. I'm already seeing quite a few new (or re-listed) properties come on the market in the past week and a half that are substantially lower in price (>10% less than pre-May 1).
I agree that many buyers were pulled forward wanting to get in on the federal tax credit, but don't expect that to subside just yet, can't leave the market to stabilize on it's own overnight... the CA version went into effect 5/1
Inventory is actually pretty low in many areas, especially if you're looking in a reasonable (by CA standards) price range. Personally I think there's plenty of shadow inventory out there though. Whether the banks can continue their amend, pretend, extend nonsense long enough to trickle it out slowly enough to keep prices inflated above what they probably should be remains to be seen. They're certainly doing it for now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.