I think that it is time for some truths to be told to all the buyers and sellers out here in the Ventura and Los Angeles area about our current real estate market. It is not as bad as the media keeps telling us it is - at least not here in Ventura County and LA County (Agoura, Malibu, Westlake Village, and portions of the West Side). We are now experiencing a housing shortage and rising home prices. I would not go so far to say that it is a sellers market again, but we are close to it. If sellers are pricing their homes right - more about that later - the home will sell in the first few days. Of course, there is more to it than that! Those fixers that are selling fast are priced accordingly; the updated homes are selling for close to the same price as those that are not, but the price must be relative to the tract, the upgrades as well as some other factors.

I am an honest agent; I don't sell homes to line my pockets because I truly want to make a difference in my clients' lives. Anyone can sell a home - very few of us can actually have an intelligent conversation about the market, the trends and what to expect next. Very few of us even care, which is why I created this blog - I want you to be informed buyers and sellers.

What can we expect next? It is simple, really. If the Feds lower the rates, we will see 2004 and 2005 all over again. Prices will come up a little and buyers will be in a rush to buy. Now, if the Feds raise the rates we will see a slight decrease in prices and more importantly, we will see a lot more foreclosures and short sales than in previous months - again, it is all relative and depends a great deal on the Feds but also on the inventory. I am so sick and tired of reading in the media about how many homes are on the market and not selling. Where are they getting their info from? It is certainly not about us here in our community and must be in areas of CA that tend to have a higher number of low income families. We have a very low inventory - just ask my clients who are looking for homes in the Conejo Valley; there are only a few homes priced under 650k - and none of them are priced right - they are all too high - if they weren't they would be sold. Simi Valley experienced a huge down turn but I can tell you that this has changed and homes - again, those that are priced right - are selling within just a few days.

I have mentioned pricing your home "right" a few times now; I would suggest that you check the most recent sales - must be within the last 60 days or less for this to make sense - and price it approx. 10 to 20k under this. It has to be a model match or near match for this to work But if you do this - YOUR HOME WILL SELL and SELL QUICKLY; there are a lot of other factors to take into consideration as well (as I mentioned before) such as upgrades, lot size, position on the street, but it truly boils down to price. You must be real; yes, you have a nice home, it is a dream home, your castle - but not to your buyer; it's just another home priced too high - NEXT!