In response to blog comments plus most every friend and client I come in contact with I want to give you my OPINION on where the prices are going in Discovery Bay as well a regionally. When to buy, how long to wait. That is the real question. Heres the deal. Right now, today, as we move into late winter I believe that the MARKET (as oppossed to the asking prices) is as soft as it going to get. What is happening is that the best houses are either selling now (at prices well below asking per the MLS data) or the sellers are simply taking them off the market and leaving them vacant or leasing them out for a year or two in order to minimize their negative cash flow while waiting for the market to "come back".

What I am trying to say is that NOW is the best time to OFFER what you believe is a fair price for the exact home you want. Use the tools I have given you on DiscoveryBayGuide, talk to your agent or call me (yes I do this for a living) and make your OFFER. If it is not accepted, your offer will be countered or simply rejected. But the offer was REAL, it was made in good faith with justifiable comps and placed in the Sellers hand. If the Seller counters your offer and YOU (Buyer) rejects their (Seller) counter offer, the offer was still made and the Seller knows that THEY rejected a real offer based on real information. Perhaps in a several weeks they will be awake in the middle of the night wondering if your offer is still available and call back (hopefully in the morning). In other words, by OFFERING now you are forcing the Seller to make a decision. Any good Realtor will justify their clients written offer with actual comps and current and foreseable market conditions, therefore the seller will not be "insulted".

They may even wonder why their agent didn't tell them this before....